According to Datamonitor researcher, Irene Bi, smart personal care is a space to watch for all beauty brands, as it will potentially revolutionize the sector in terms of product development, and could lead to currently unforeseen opportunities for all who take part in the game.
In 2014, the market analyst found that 69% of global consumers expected their spending on personal care/beauty products to decrease or stay the same.
"This shows that although the world is slowly coming out of recession, consumers are yet to commit to a completely “smart” personal care regime due to the higher expenses, therefore sparing a foothold in the market for lower-priced personal care products," she says.
The increase in popularity of beauty devices not only suggests a new way of carrying out personal care regimes, but also implies that these devices stand a high chance of replacing conventional beauty formats such as creams and lotions.
The nature of beauty devices helps it to attract three consumer segments:
- The money savers who demand more for less: beauty devices allow them to have professional beauty treatment at a much more affordable price than in-salon services
- The comfort-seekers: beauty devices enable treatments to be carried out at consumers’ own pace and at a place of their choice.
- Effectiveness-driven beauty enthusiasts: technology implies a strong message of product efficacy, which is highly appealing to those aiming for a better result in a timely manner.
According to Bi, these three groups represent important consumer trends that beauty devices have tapped into: 'Bargain Hunting', 'Cocooning', and 'Efficient & Effective'.
1. Rolling out device-friendly products
Datamonitor Consumer's most recent skin care insight revealed beauty devices to be a threat to traditional skin care products, applied manually.
Big brands that already include beauty devices as part of their line-ups could utilize these gadgets to promote their new or existing product ranges.
For example, Clinique has bundled its new Sonic System Purifying Cleansing Brush with its Liquid Facial Soap. For smaller brands that cannot afford to develop beauty devices, Irene says releasing products that can work in conjunction with beauty devices would be the key for future innovation.
2. More effort on building a natural/organic product portfolio
The benefits offered by beauty devices are indeed highly attractive, but one must not forget that naturalness is still a prominent theme in almost all categories across personal care.
Some devices lack the “natural” appeal favored by natural and organic personal care fans worldwide.
3. Focus on more competitive pricing
The inclusion of beauty devices into one’s personal care regime means there is an additional cost for consumers. Although being lower priced than in-salon treatments, the cost of beauty devices is still significantly higher than traditional beauty products.
For example, Tria Beauty Age-Defying Laser featured in the market firm's research on Bargain Hunting. Furthermore, despite consumers becoming more appearance-conscious, they are still conservative about their spending on personal care.