Social media’s continuing influence on the beauty space
Social media has become one of the end-all and be-all places to go for just about everything. Almost anything can be found on these platforms, including restaurant reviews, music reviews and beauty product recommendations, with just a simple search on Instagram, TikTok and Twitter.
To specifically zero in on the beauty space, social media platform TikTok has become the place where one good review by an influencer with thousands of followers can have cause a product to sell out in just a matter of seconds. For example, influencer Mikayla Noguiera previously called Milani Cosmetics’ Color Fetish Matte Lipstick, “the lipstick of FALL! Period!!” That brief statement led the product to sell out for months and resulted in a sales increase for the beauty brand as well.
Not to mention, there’s also the fact that other TikTok-viral products, including Charlotte Tilbury's Hollywood Contour Wand and the Dior Addict Lip Glow have been sold out since late 2021 thanks to tons of hype on the platform, and even when back in stock, they’re immediately sold out within a matter of days or seconds online or nearly impossible to find in-store.
Needless to say, the TikTok platform has become a blessing for brands who that are putting out new products that are, being picked up by going out to influencers, quickly going viral and selling out. Though it also has become somewhat of a nightmare for beauty enthusiasts who want to get their hands on a new product that can add something new or quickly change their routines
Just because consumers are on the hunt for quick fixes doesn’t exactly mean that they are also incorporating hundreds of additional products into their daily skin care and makeup routines. According to a survey conducted by Attest, its US Beauty & Grooming Report 2022 Report found that just under half of Americans, about 45%, spend no more than 15 minutes on their beauty and grooming habits daily, while 31% admitted to taking only up to 30 minutes on these routines each day.
The lack of time in getting ready can be attributed to consumers just wanting to simplify their routines as since now, following at the tail end of the COVID-19 pandemic, most workdays are conducted from home. This can, and also be attributed to the growing trend of no-makeup makeup looks on social media platforms, most notably TikTok and the “clean girl” aesthetic, which is comprised of just a few key essentials.
Staying with the notion of consumers keeping their routines as minimal as possible, 46% of those surveyed shared that they only use one to three products as part of their daily routine, while 35% admitted to incorporating four to six products into their daily beauty and skin care regimen.
Though according to the survey, most consumers admit to not really interacting with brands on social media, and when it comes to influencing trying their desire to try new products, 6.8% of those surveyed admitted confessed that social media hype influenced their purchase decisions, while 5.8% shared that seeing an influencer talking about it a product influenced whether or not they would purchase the product in question.
When it comes to the types of products that consumers are currently purchasing, 41% revealed that monthly they are restocking their hair care products, while 34% are repurchasing skin care products on a monthly basis, and 32% are spending some of their budgets on shaving items.
Makeup, on the other hand, seemed to be the less-purchased category, with a good majority of those surveyed revealing that they did not purchase cosmetic products on a monthly basis. Having said that, this information can surely be attributed to the fact that many individuals are now working from home and do not require to do their makeup on a daily basis, or they are working on a hybrid model, which also means that the amount of makeup used on a weekly and monthly basis has decreased significantly for consumers.
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The amount being spent also varies greatly, as 27% shared that they budget between $26 to $50 on their monthly beauty purchases, while 23% admitted to spending only $10 to $25 and only 5% spent between $75 to $100 per month.
However, that isn’t to say that social media isn’t just impacting what consumers are purchasing but how they are purchasing products as well. With shoppable actions now in place across Instagram and TikTok, hitting the “add to cart” button has become a whole lot easier than ever.
According to Accenture’s Why Shopping’s Set for a Social Revolution report, social commerce has opened up a new level of revenue stream where consumers are now able to stumble upon companies or beauty brands on their own and shop for their products directly — no middle man or retailer required.
A perfect example of this new influence on the shopping world is the beauty brand Glow Recipe. After joining TikTok’s shopping platform in April 2021, about 90% of the traffic it has generated since then is from first-time buyers. The brand has even had sales surge by more than 600% after a very popular influencer, who has more than seven million followers on the social platform, posted about its products, according to the report.
“Everyone stands to gain from social commerce. The implications cut across every consumer category, across products and services, and will impact every platform, brand and retailer, as social commerce will grow three times faster than traditional e-commerce on a compound annual basis,” the report states.
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Although it is possible that all parties can win when it comes to social commerce, what seems to be key here is going viral on social media. Yes, individuals with not a lot of followers on these social platforms mostly drive sales of viral products, but the catalyst to all of this is, once again, influencers.
The influencer’s impact on the beauty world continues to grow and only time will tell if it will continue to expand or comes to a slow and abrupt sizzle.