Personalisation Hits The Beauty Industry

Personalisation Hits The Beauty Industry

Not only is the beauty industry adapting, like many others, to provide more tailored customer service. But the products and services included in their offerings are now become more unique to the customer. This has been fuelled by the both a drive from customers for beauty products that are made just for them, and the technology to make it happen becoming readily available.

Personalisation has revolutionised the way consumers shop for beauty based products and services. From custom made foundation shades to tailored facials, the market is thriving as as brands adapt their one-size fits all approach to become a truly personal buying experience.

Honestly, it is a surprise that this level of personalisation didn’t appear in the beauty industry earlier. As a market that is based on self care, it lends itself to more tailored experiences to suit exactly what the customer is after. Whilst the trend isn’t completely new to the market, with offerings such as ‘make your own’ lipsticks available for some time, it has greatly expanded to include a broader range of custom offerings that are more attainable to consumers in both price and accessibility.

In the beauty services space this has taken the form of more in-depth analysis with the customer before building out a unique treatment plan. This concept is encompassed across not only spa services such as facials or skin treatments, but also into areas such as hand painted hair colours.

For a long time in-store experience has played a major role in the beauty industry buying process. In a heavily service based industry, elements of the servicescape play a major role in how consumers determine the quality of the product and interpret the brands image.  As a result brands have poured time and money into creating the perfect in-store environment for their customers and the introduction of new technologies has only allowed them to expand upon this further.

However, in the beauty products space is where the concept has really flourished. Products such as make-up, skin-care and hair-care are things that can be highly customised to an individuals needs. Whilst brands are all launching their own vision of personalisation, a common thread across the trend is technology. New innovations have allowed for brands to create personalised product shades for customers on-site, and there are a range of apps that allow customers to see what it would look like on them, without even applying the product.

These tailored offerings are not limited to customers that walk into a store however, similar products are readily available across the globe through online providers. Goods such as shampoo and conditioners that are made bespoke based on the results of a customers online service are popping up everywhere, and the beauty industry is thriving as customers are happy to pay a higher price tag for such products.

However, whilst this trend is still in the growth phase, many are beginning to ask what will happen to the industry when such tailored products and experiences become common-place. Currently, brands can charge a premium for their bespoke offerings, however as consumers begin to expect this level of personalisation, the cost of such services will likely be deemed to high. Nevertheless the trend of personalisation has driven the beauty industry into a boom, and in the era of ‘treat yourself’, now is the time for brands to be experimenting with new offerings and to focus on their customers buying experience.