Interpretation of Oteou big data: 4 new consumer trends in cosmetics

On September 21, in the 2020 (Autumn) International Cosmetics e-Expo event, "Cosmetics News" specially invited Oteo International Consulting Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Oteo") market researcher Cui Wenna to be a guest at e Expo Business School live broadcast Interpretation of the consumption trend of Chinese cosmetics in the new consumption era for the audience.

Cosmetics are just needed, skin care and perfume are good for consumers

With the rapid growth of China's economy, people are paying more and more attention to their own image, and cosmetics have become a rigid demand in daily life. In the past, cosmetics may be non-essential products, and they are products of consumption upgrades, but now cosmetics have become necessities of people's daily life just like clothing, food, housing and transportation. Judging from online retail data in 2020, online retail sales of cosmetics reached 177.7 billion from January to August, second only to the medical and health care and food and beverage industries.

From the perspective of sub-categories, skin care products are a favorite of consumers, accounting for more than 60% of cosmetics sales. According to Cui Wenna, the growth rate of perfume, shampoo, and hair care products is also relatively high. With the development of refinement in China, perfume has become a representative item of elegance and sophistication. Oteou data show that the sales growth rate of perfume category from January to August of 2020 reached 37%, the highest growth rate among all categories.

In this e-Expo Business School course, Cui Wenna also shared with the audience Oteo’s research results on cosmetic consumption trends obtained by interpretation of big data. She described the current cosmetics presentation from three aspects: product, marketing, and user groups. Four new consumer trends that have emerged.

The rise of the "component party"

Nowadays, consumers are becoming more and more rational. They not only pay attention to the effect of cosmetics promotion, but also pay more attention to the actual effect of the product and whether it is suitable for their skin. Oteo data shows that products containing retinol and having anti-aging effects have a year-on-year growth rate of 533.4%; products containing lactose and having a metabolic effect have a year-on-year growth rate of 540.2%.

Cui Wenna believes that consumers' emphasis on ingredients is a manifestation of the upgrade of consumption concepts and an important direction for brand new products to break through. Some brands follow the trend and pay more attention to the promotion of ingredients and effects to strengthen consumer awareness. For example, the cutting-edge brand HomeFaciaPro takes ingredients as the core feature of the brand, and it has grown rapidly in just a few years and has become the forefront of skin care products. According to European consulting data, HFP's sales from January to August 2020 achieved a year-on-year increase of 52.4%.

It is worth noting that the rise of the ingredient party has also promoted the development of skin testing technology and the popularization of private customized products. Cui Wenna revealed that although consumers' understanding of various ingredients continues to deepen, consumers do not know enough about their skin texture and do not know how to match suitable cosmetic ingredients. At this time, smart skin detection technology just caters to the needs of consumers. By measuring various information such as skin texture, pore size, skin moisture content, etc., and then formulating cosmetics that are only suitable for this skin based on these data.

High-value packaging, green and environmental protection

At present, the high-value packaging of products has become an important factor in attracting consumers. Many businesses spend too much time on creative packaging and give them some new concepts to attract consumers and increase the premium of products. However, excessive packaging is essential The above is a waste of resources.

Environmental pollution has made people more and more environmentally aware, and green packaging is also becoming a trend. Harmless, non-polluting, and recyclable packaging are becoming more and more popular with brand owners. Some brands have begun to introduce recyclable and recyclable packaging materials, such as the paper tube packaging launched by L'Oréal Beauty.

In addition to the brand's efforts in packaging, related departments have also strengthened the management of packaging. The "Law of the People's Republic of China on the Prevention and Control of Environmental Pollution by Solid Wastes" revised this year and implemented on September 1 stipulates that producers and operators should comply with mandatory standards that restrict excessive packaging of goods and avoid excessive packaging.

Cui Wenna said that high-value packaging and green packaging are not an antagonistic choice. Brands can also combine environmentally friendly materials to beautify products with high-value when packaging products to achieve both appearance and environmental protection.

Online marketing diversification KOL, live broadcast, etc. bring marketing changes

With the increasingly fierce competition of traditional e-commerce, the rise of social platforms provides new opportunities for cosmetics marketing. Cui Wenna revealed that some brands have implemented a complete marketing chain with the help of social platforms: from new product launches, KOL planting, e-commerce diversion, user purchase feedback, second word-of-mouth communication, and repurchase, forming an infinite loop marketing model.

In addition to social platform marketing, live e-commerce is also one of the ways of cosmetics marketing. Live broadcasting breaks up the information barriers between consumers and businesses, making the display of products more intuitive and vivid, and the frequent interaction of live broadcasting can more easily stimulate consumers' desire to buy, so the conversion rate of live broadcasting is higher. According to the public data from Oteou, in 2020, the penetration rate of cosmetics and the penetration rate of live broadcast stores will continue to rise.

For brands, a single marketing method can no longer meet the needs of consumers. More often they will play a combination of punches to improve marketing efficiency. Some of them invite celebrity endorsements, variety show naming, and film and television implantation. Ways to use the fan economy to extend the brand market. In addition, the brand not only enters social e-commerce companies such as Weibo and Xiaohongshu for grass promotion, but also uses short videos to invite head and waist influencers such as Li Jiaqi to carry out sales marketing.

Cui Wenna believes that this type of emerging marketing model pays more attention to increasing the interactive communication between the platform and consumers, conveying brand positioning and image at lower marketing costs, strengthening consumers' experience and awareness of products, building and disseminating brands, and expanding User group scope.

A wider range of cosmetics users are becoming a new fashion with younger age and genderlessness

In 2020, cosmetics are no longer the patent of young women, and younger age and genderlessness have become one of the characteristics of the user group of new fashion cosmetics.

As more and more new generations born in the 80s and 90s are gradually occupying a leading position, young parents not only pay attention to their own beauty, but also pay attention to all aspects of their children's needs. The children's cosmetics market is becoming a potential stock that cannot be ignored. In order to meet this demand, some businesses have begun to enter the children’s cosmetics market, combining colors, characters, and animations that children are interested in to create product packaging to attract consumers’ attention. Brands such as Disney and Qichu’s children’s cosmetics have increased year-on-year Up to 200%.

In addition, the rise of the male makeup group has gradually become the leader of a genderless culture in cosmetics. Most men's cosmetics, like women, pursue non-makeup products and concealer products suitable for acne. The packaging requirements for cosmetics are simple, low-key, and textured.

At present, many traditional brands have generally opened full cosmetics product lines, and entering the field of men's cosmetics is also a new opportunity for brands.