Earlier this year, Kylie Jenner was named the world’s youngest self-made billionaire at just twenty one years old, snatching the crown from Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg who was twenty three at the time he accrued the title.
According to research by Global Web Index, 45% of beauty consumers look to reviews for online research purposes before buying a product.
Beauty Bay, the independent online beauty retailer, has recently revamped its website in a bid to become a ‘digital-first’ brand.
A growing number of influencers are opting to cash in on their followings by launching their own brands instead of charging established brands to promote their wares. The potential rewards are huge.
The beauty industry is a saturated market, filled with a multitude of brands vying for the attention and loyalty of consumers. A stand-out product or interesting story is no longer enough to succeed, it seems, as consumers become increasingly demanding and more digitally-savvy than ever before.
WAH Nails, the London-based nail brand and boutique, has amassed nearly half a million followers on Instagram. Its founder, Sharmadean Reid, has now combined her undeniable social expertise with technology for the purpose of a brand new app: Beautystack.
Have we reached peak influencer marketing?
With major brands like Unilever increasingly scrutinizing influencers over fake followers, and platforms like Twitter getting more aggressive about removing bot accounts, the answer to that question just might be yes. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that we have reached peak influencer.
The beauty industry used to be ruled by large cosmetics companies like L’Oréal and Estee Lauder.
These days, while they’re still generating success, major brands are increasingly feeling the heat from a number of new brands intent on shaking up the industry.
The beauty industry had adopted influencer marketing more fervently than any other industry.
With big budgets and a less tangible product than, say, fashion or homeware – influencers (or digital talent) can bring products to life, and help to create a link between social media and ecommerce.
Instagram is about more than just style inspiration.
Now, it seems more consumers than ever before are buying what they see on the social media channel, as 72% of survey respondents say they have made fashion, beauty, or style-related purchases directly after spotting something on Instagram.
Glossier is pretty well known now, even pricking the consciousness of people like me who aren’t necessarily in the brand’s target market.
The New York-based beauty startup emerged from online magazine Into The Gloss and has been praised on this blog for its Instagram output and its referral program.
Chatbots have gone in and out of favour during the past couple of years. First touted as the ‘next big thing’ for marketing, many brand examples have since died a death due to the tech lacking sophistication or failing to provide any real relevance for consumers.
That being said, the fashion and beauty industries still appear attached to the concept, with many more brands launching AI-powered chatbots in the past year or so.