Article

Chris Baldwin
Chris Baldwin 30 December 2019

Transforming Health and Beauty Brands for the Digital Age

With the continued dominance of e-tail giants and the rise of digital-native brands, consumers are constantly being exposed to new brands and products. Between customized cosmetics, subscription boxes and the omnipresence of influencer marketing, there seems to be a never-ending selection of new health and beauty brands coming to market. These new challenger brands are taking over the health and beauty market and creating a difficult and ineffective search experience for consumers. Buying something as simple as a mascara has become a tedious, overwhelming task. If brands and retailers want to meet the needs of today’s demanding consumers, they need to cultivate authentic, personalized relationships with each individual.

The new generation of health and beauty consumers:

The top 20 cosmetics brands capture 90% of the industry’s in-store dollars, yet those same brands only see 14% of online market share. The reason for this shift is two-fold: legacy brands that dominate in-store have benefited from decades of in-store experiences that offer far more product education and personalized engagement, giving consumers a feeling of confidence with each purchase but have yet to adequately translate that experience on the digital shelf. Digitally native brands born in the age of digital commerce are consumer obsessed giving them an edge on their older competition.

As the health and beauty industry adjusts to these new realities of digital environments, online storefronts and marketplaces like their own D2C channels and Amazon are finding innovative ways to fill in the gaps of the digital search experience.  

In the end, it is the experience, not the product that is selling point to drive conversions. Brands looking to grow their online market share within the health and beauty space must quickly shift from a keyword-based mindset to a conversation-based one to prove that consumer satisfaction and ease are the focus of their strategy. By asking needs-based questions and putting the consumer first, brands and retailers can truly understand who is buying and why.

Challenges within the health and beauty industry:

With the health and beauty industry becoming more saturated with increased competition across price points and a wider range of inclusive options, it’s more difficult for brands to stand out. This is especially evident with the growing demand for personalized messaging and tailored recommendations.

Consumers are facing an overwhelming abundance of choice, extensive product offerings, a lack of education and communicated value from brands. It’s time to bring the trust and confidence of the beauty counter to the digital search experience human.

Shaping the face of the health and beauty throughout the search experience:

It’s vital for health and beauty brands to deliver meaningful experiences that deliver trust and authenticity. Brands and retailers are falling behind on carrying out the personalization consumers crave. They need to constantly ask themselves, “What are the individual needs and wants of our shopper? How can we engage them across touchpoints throughout the search experience?”  Those who are succeeding at meeting these needs are turning to conversational search to achieve such an experience. 

With the power of AI and machine learning, conversations become smarter while consumers become happier and more loyal. Conversational search solutions allow brands to engage with consumers across digital channels and provide them with educational and emotional consultative experiences. AI has the power to harness data revealing critical insights into consumer behavior and product performance in real-time. Rather than consumers being left to fend for themselves, brands can now use this data to provide the same level of assistance and support online as shoppers would receive in-store, both before, during and after a purchase.

Since the deployment of interactive conversational search solutions, online sales within the health and beauty industry have significantly increased. As you work to set up your brand for success, it’s critical to learn from consumer purchase patterns and collect unique data points to influence future marketing campaigns. With data and analytics driving strategic decision-making, you can completely revamp the search experience.  

With data and analytics at hand, there is no reason your brand can’t provide a personalized, authentic search experience. Find out more in this free whitepaper.

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