It’s a tough time. Yes, the pandemic is soaring around the world. And, businesses are faltering all around us. Even my lash salon has faced never reported such low income in decades that I’ve been working in the industry. But, stay put, because the light at the end of the tunnel just came on. It’s time to get out of this pandemic and revive your business. Readout this blog to know-how is the beauty industry affected by COVID-19?
But, do you know 19 million shades were checked out by savvy shoppers from Ulta Beauty, the largest beauty chain in the retail sector of the U.S.A? While many lash artists had to stay-at-home because work-from-home is just impossible for us, there is a huge storm that’s coming into the beauty industry at the moment.
Whether you’re a lash artist or a beauty business owner, this article will help you understand exactly how big players are reinventing their businesses to cope with billions in losses. There are many lessons you can apply for your small business in return.
I will talk in detail about the following:
1. Definition of Beauty Industry
2.Timeline of Progress in 15 Years
3. How do beauty consumers buy products during the pandemic?
4. What will happen if COVID recurs in the U.S?
5. 5- Ways the beauty industry is coping with the pandemic
6. Top beauty products that are selling like hot cakes ATM
6. What will this pandemic do to the future of the industry?
7. How can a lash owner cope with COVID-19 in 5 ways?
I’ve used McKinsey’s conclusions on the beauty industry throughout this article to help you in the following article. The facts and figures will help you plan the future of your lash business and career too. Let’s get started ASAP!
Is the beauty industry everything fashion or is it just face makeup? Nah, on both. The truth is that this is a market that comprises of everything that has to do with beauty. While fashion isn’t a category here, skincare from head to toe is.
The beauty industry roughly comprises of hairdressers, stylists, perfume, haircare, skincare products, cosmetics, and even cosmetic surgery. During the pandemic, many brick-and-mortar stores such as cosmetic outlets in malls, salons, and beauty parlors have been shut. It’s not deemed essential in most places and the same is why business is more than rough these days.
But, this is an industry that has a history of hundreds and thousands of years dating back to 4,000 B.C where Egyptians used kohl to accentuate the outline of the eyes. It has seen plagues to wars and whatnot.
The same is why whether it’s hay or shine, the world will go on and you as an artist or business owner should find out how to cope with it using the professional tips of big businesses and professionals in the industry.
Before you look at what the pandemic has stirred up on the beauty industry, it’s wise to take a look at how it has grown through the ages. You already know how far it dates; now look at how fast it has grown.
I’ve compiled the data on the size of the beauty industry in billions below in different ages so that you can see how progressively or regressively it has grown in the past years.
– $267 Billion in 2005: $134 Billion in Personal Care products, $68 Billion in skincare products, $37 Billion in color cosmetics, and $28 Billion in Fragrances.
– $281 Billion in 2006: $141 Billion in Personal Care products, $72 Billion in skincare products, $38 Billion in color cosmetics, and $30 Billion in Fragrances
– $297 Billion in 2007: $148 Billion in Personal Care products, $77 Billion in skincare products, $40 Billion in color cosmetics, and $32 Billion in Fragrances
– $309 Billion in 2008: $154 Billion in Personal Care products, $81 Billion in skincare products, $42 Billion in color cosmetics, and $33 Billion in Fragrances
– $319 Billion in 2009: $159 Billion in Personal Care products, $84 Billion in skincare products, $43 Billion in color cosmetics, and $33 Billion in Fragrances
– $332 Billion in 2010: $165 Billion in Personal Care products, $88 Billion in skincare products, $44 Billion in color cosmetics, and $35 Billion in Fragrances
– $349 Billion in 2011: $174 Billion in Personal Care products, $92 Billion in skincare products, $46 Billion in color cosmetics, and $37 Billion in Fragrances
– $367 Billion in 2012: $18 Billion in Personal Care products 2, $97 Billion in skincare products, $49 Billion in color cosmetics, and $38 Billion in Fragrances
– $383 Billion in 2013: $190 Billion in Personal Care products, $102 Billion in skincare products, $51 Billion in color cosmetics, and $40 Billion in Fragrances
– $400 Billion in 2014: $198 Billion in Personal Care products, $106 Billion in skincare products, $54 Billion in color cosmetics, and $42 Billion in Fragrances
– $418 Billion in 2015: $205 Billion in Personal Care products, $111 Billion in skincare products, $58 Billion in color cosmetics, and $43 Billion in Fragrances
– $436 Billion in 2016: $211 Billion in Personal Care products, $117 Billion in skincare products, $63 Billion in color cosmetics, and $45 Billion in Fragrances
– $445 Billion in 2017: $218 Billion in Personal Care products, $123 Billion in skincare products, $67 Billion in color cosmetics, and $47 Billion in Fragrances
– $477 Billion in 2018: $227 Billion in Personal Care products, $132 Billion in skincare products, $70 Billion in color cosmetics, and $49 Billion in Fragrances
– $500 Billion in 2019: $236 Billion in Personal Care products, $140 Billion in skincare products, $72 Billion in color cosmetics, and $51 Billion in Fragrances
In 2020, even though the pandemic grew drastically around the world such as China’s Beauty market that fell by 80% in February, it bounced back to 20% in March.
One principle to refer to is that of Leonard Lauder called Lipstick Index and it refers to the 2001 recession. Basically, all it means to say is that when you exemplify lipstick as an affordable luxury, people tend to continue buying even during financial troubles.
While there’s a stark decline in purchases during the pandemic on items other than essentials, the cosmetic industry is facing softer blows than the rest of the markets around the world. Take a look at the forecasted and present purchase trends of products in the beauty industry below when compared with other industries.
– US: +19% increase in groceries, -11% decline in personal care products, -36% decline in skincare or makeup products and -52% decrease in apparel purchases
– China: +9% increase in grocery purchases, +10% in personal products, +6% in skincare/makeup, and -10% decline in clothes
– UK: +7% in groceries, -14% in personal care items, -48% decrease in skincare and makeup items and -68% decline in clothing purchases
– Japan: +18% purchase of groceries, -1% decline in personal item purchases, -24% decrease in buying makeup/skincare products and -49% decline in apparel buying
In a general analysis by McKinsey, it was found that the Beauty Industry is generally expected to have a decline of up to 30% in 2020. When it comes to a recurrence of Coronavirus in the U.S, the industry could be hit by up to 35%.
When compared with 2019, there’s -25 to -35% of change, around a 50% drop in peak purchases with 2 months to 5 months of lack in business. Experts estimate that it would at least take till 2022 the first quarter to make up for all the losses dealt during the pandemic.
When experts looked at the recovery of the market in several scenarios, they considered where were the products sold, what was sold, and how it was sold to find out remedies for global losses. Before we count the blessings in the industry, you need to have a reality-check on how it was performing before all this hullaballoo.
In fact, 85% of the beauty industry purchases happened in retail stores. Sephora ad your own lash salon are clear examples of such outlets. Even if the youth boasts that they always purchased online even before the pandemic, facts say that 60% of Gen Z and millennials made in-story purchases for their beauty needs.
Truth be told with the pandemic insight, up to 30% of beauty outlets had to close down. Unfortunately, for some of them, the shutters won’t open again because coping with this global-scale viral infection can pull you down with it.
Shopping habits of offline and online consumers in the beauty industry are given below based on different generations.
Cosmetic Products
– Baby Boomers: 18% buy online, 3% browse offline and buy online, 8% of browsing in offline stores to buy online, 2% of offline browsing and offline buying, 8% browse online and buy offline, and 60% who browse in-store and buy offline.
– Gen X: 16% buy online, 10% browse offline and buy online, 3% of browsing in offline stores to buy online, 11%f offline browsing and offline buying, 6% browse online and buy offline, 51% who browse in-store and buy offline, 3% of Other
– Millennials: 24% buy online, 7% browse offline and buy online, 11% of browsing in offline stores to buy online, 14% of offline browsing and offline buying, 19% browse online and buy offline, 25% who browse in-store and buy offline.
– Gen Z: 22% buy online, 8% browse offline and buy online, 10% of browsing in offline stores to buy online, 16% of offline browsing and offline buying, 15% browse online and buy offline, 29% who browse in-store and buy offline.
– Baby Boomers: 13% buy online, 3% browse offline and buy online, 7% of browsing in offline stores to buy online, 2% of offline browsing and offline buying, 74% browse online and buy offline, 2% who browse in-store and buy offline.
– Gen X: 22% buy online, 6% browse offline and buy online, 2% of browsing in offline stores to buy online, 14% of offline browsing and offline buying, 6% browse online and buy offline, 49% who browse in-store and buy offline, 2% of Other
– Millennials: 23% buy online, 5% browse offline and buy online, 7% of browsing in offline stores to buy online, 11% of offline browsing and offline buying, 9% browse online and buy offline, 44% who browse in-store and buy offline, 1% of Other
– Gen Z: 20% buy online, 8% browse offline and buy online, 10% of browsing in offline stores to buy online, 14% of offline browsing and offline buying, 15% browse online and buy offline, 32% who browse in-store and buy offline.
Online shopping website on laptop screen with female hands using a smartphone
Another notable factor is that while the online purchases of beauty products are increasing, store-wise purchases are not affected by the popularity of virtual stores. The crazy truth is that some business owners in the beauty industry are recording 20% higher sales are profits than before the pandemic.
For example, when compared to facts and figures of Sephora, the company increased sales by 30% than it was in the previous year. Moreover, Amazon beauty item sales were also remarkable in April up till 11th. During the pandemic, there has been a record increase of up to 30% of the rise in revenue for beauty enterprise owners such as lash artists.
However, offline stores are seeing considerably fewer customers leaving their homes to visit stores. Although grocery and medicine shop owners are facing incredible profits during this testing time, the beauty market hasn’t received the same respect and treatment during COVID-19.
For example, the Boots UK drugstore records decrease in sales two-third amount from March 25 to April 3, 2020, alone. When surveyed, UK consumers also confessed that they will be spending less on beauty products in the coming weeks.
When the pandemic situation finally became better in China, beauty business owners around the world expected the market to retain normal sales and revenue quickly. However, facts say that since the reopening of stores since March 13 in China, traffic is up to 43% lesser than what it was before the pandemic. Worse is the case for beauty stores and outlets or counters that work from within malls. In the case of China, the traffic saw a 43% decline and up to 70% lesser revenue for 60% of enterprise and small business owners in the first quarter of this year alone.
For clearing the inventory, retailers and wholesalers are running crazy sales and promotional offers with huge discounts never seen before.
While it might look unbelievable, many upscale brands are also offering up to 40% discounts on their products, unlike never seen before. They aspire to beat the competition of beauty outlets and salons with DIY beauty solutions.
If you own an offline beauty store, it’s worth investing in promotional offers to drive offline customers to salons and shops. Seems like Black Friday is early in 2020 and if you’re a business owner, go through the ways big players are changing their prices and discounts to apply the same successful methods on your own.
With more and more people focused on clipping their masks right or washing their hands every 15 minutes, makeup has taken a backseat for most.
People are matching their masks with the attire than lipstick, eyeshadow or bronzer. But, when it comes to the lash industry, eyes are getting all the more attention now that lips are out of the game.
For example, the scents and cosmetic purchases on big brands are facing a 55 to 75% decline in footfall when compared to 2019. However, Alibaba reported that eye makeup sales grew by 150% every month from February 2020. As the profits and sales from skincare and premium products go up, the cost of luxury hand soap in France went up by 800% in a week in March.
In the case of Europe’s fashion chain Zalando, customers invested in self-care products like candles, detox items, and nail grooming besides hair and facial makeup 300% more than the previous months. When you look at the bigger picture, nail-related products increased sales by 218%, hair coloring by 172% and bath-body-items by 65%.
Here are the different estimates of beauty products growing in the U.S.A based on different products against facts and figures from 2019:
– Body wash/ soap: $321 Million in sales with an average price of $14.10, retail sales of 65%, -11% drop in average price and $44 Million in retail sales
– Haircare: $540 Million in sales with an average price of $18.43, retail sales of 27%, -12% drop in average price, $33 Million in retail sales
– Nail grooming: $123 Million in sales with an average price of $15.02, retail sales of 218%, +16% increase in average price, $33 Million in retail sales
– Skin Care: $540 Million in sales with an average price of $18.17, retail sales of 20%, -14% drop in average price, $9 Million in retail sales
– Hair Styling/ color: $58 Million in sales with an average price of $13.64, retail sales of 172%, -3% drop in average price, $17 Million in retail sales
– Men’s Hair Grooming: $240 Million in sales with an average price of $25.44, retail sales of 56%, +6% spike in average price, $28 Million in retail sales
– Hair Removal: $74 Million in sales with an average price of $16.15, retail sales of 53%, -14% drop in average price, $9 Million in retail sales
– Eye Makeup: $82 Million in sales with an average price of $12.30, retail sales of 5%, -12% drop in average price, $1 Million in retail sales
– Face Makeup: $77 Million in sales with an average price of $13.87, retail sales of -3%, -21% drop in average price, -1 Million USD in retail sales
– Lip care and style: $55 Million in sales with an average price of $8.97, retail sales of -15%, -28% drop in average price, -2 Million USD in retail sales
– Beauty equipment: $316 Million in sales with an average price of $16.60, retail sales of -7%, -15% drop in average price, -6 Million USD in retail sales
What will happen to the beauty industry in the coming months? Is there professional advice on how to revive your business that has suffered hugely during this time? What can you do to bring more customers to your brick-and-mortar beauty store?
I’ve created four sub-headers below to help you prepare for the coming months so that you can save your business and accelerate it to success. Get started on it.
In this age where most of us are stuck inside our homes, the opportunity to hone talents and make our own quarantine products is becoming a huge trend nowadays.
From DIY hair coloring to lash extensions, hair styling, and facial care, U.S is seeing a spike in beauty product purchases. For example, hair dye and hair clipper items have increased in prices by 23% to 166% in the first half of April when compared to previous years. For example, the Madison home hair coloring kit increased in sales by 10x during this time.
When it comes to the U.K, nail polishes from revered brands have seen a double-digit spike in progress since the pandemic. Combined with problems like hoarding, panic, and uncertainty, this age has given birth to the nail polish index from the lipstick index today.
While it’s true that the pandemic has pushed most of the offline businesses online, what can you do as a lash artist to take your physical business to the virtual space? Just as it was before the pandemic, there will be more focus on brand-based websites, business portals, and social media platforms where consumers can shop seamlessly.
If you’re a beauty industry player, it’s imperative that you begin by creating custom strategies for different digital channels based on your target audience. For example, use AI for testing products, personalization to attract more traffic and other innovative techniques in your business.
Another unstoppable effect of the pandemic will be the need for innovations. With most brands changing the way they function and work, change is faster than ever. While supply may not be able to catch up right away, demand is set to be high in the coming years. That being said, contract manufacturers and freelance agencies will have a better time in the coming days.
With a much-needed collaboration potential hoping to change the beauty industry, clients should focus more on personalized and customized services.
While luxury and rarity were the sought-after traits for beauty items in the previous years, hygiene and safe manufacturing will be the ultimate focus in the coming ages. If you run a lash salon, make it obvious how you maintain the cleanliness in your salon.
You can start by using a digital thermometer to keep the body temperature of employees and customers in check. In the coming future, you might even need medical professionals in your salon to run efficiently.
It’s true that most people frown upon the idea of preservatives but when the pandemic hit, frozen foods and preserved groceries were sold the highest. When it comes to the beauty and lash industry, parabens and sulfates are making a comeback because consumers want to be safe than sorry. You will see clients proactively request you to use chemically-clean lash products and so on.
If you’re making the switch from non-preservatives to preservatives, make sure you inform your clients before doing so. Beauty packages that focus on boosting immunity and preventing viruses or maintaining the pink of health will be the star of the focus in the coming days.
Do you know some governments are mocking our industry? Boris Johnson in the U.K has been advocating nail and other beauty salons as unimportant.
The truth is the beauty industry generates 28.4 Billion Euros per year, which is higher than the car industry that generates merely 18.6 Billion annually. However, many salons and artists haven’t received clear instructions on how to get started, unlike other industries.
As a lash salon owner, you can try your hand at the following tips.
– Offer online consultation to regular customers
– Specify safety measures that you take in the salon
– Create exclusive packages for the COVID time
– Reduce the number of customers per day
– Use PPE kits and advanced shields when working
– Announce promotional discounts and savings every week
– Offer loyalty rewards on referrals to attract more traffic
– Give freebies to front-line workers and donate to charity
– Create an email marketing strategy to keep in touch with customers
– Cold call new clients in your vicinity
I know it’s hard to get by in this terrible time. Rest assured because hard-working businesses with motivated leaders are bouncing back into normalcy already. As a beauty industry owner or artist, you need to zoom in on innovations in this age.
The best place to focus on is above-the-mask makeup concerning your eyes. For example, with the mask covering the lower half of the face, brows and hair are getting more attention every day. You can groom the focus areas to look attractive in the age of the pandemic.
The following points out a list of everything we learned today.
– Beauty Industry comprises of services and stores that have to do with makeup, skincare, haircare, and so on.
– Timeline of Progress of the Beauty industry from 2005 with $267 Billion that grew to $500 Billion in 2019.
– Consumers are spending more on groceries and essentials than beauty items during the pandemic.
– If COVID recurs in the U.S, the losses are estimated to amplify and double up.
– 5 Ways the beauty industry is coping with the pandemic.
– Top beauty products that are selling like hot cakes ATM are nail care, hair color, eye makeup products, and DIY skincare kits.
– This pandemic will digitize beauty sales, improve chances of DIY, increase the pace of development, and bring back preservatives in beauty products.
– A lash salon owner/artist can cope with COVID-19 by offering consultations, freebies, email marketing, promotional discounts, clearance sales, loyalty rewards, advanced-safety measures, and so on.
You can do so much to combat the negative effects of COVID-19. Stay tuned to our blog posts because tips for lash artists and salon owners to reinvent their business strategies are coming soon.
