There’s no doubt ecommerce is the way of the future. As product brands in the Beauty and Personal Care industries look to become more competitive, there are key strategies to employ in making sure you're taking full advantage of the opportunities available to you. Pattern, a global ecommerce accelerator, has spent over ten years working with brands in every product category to improve profitability, achieve marketplace control, grow internationally, and bridge the ecommerce resources gap. With Pattern, beauty and personal care brands can achieve true success online through the following ways.

Prepare for Upcoming Growth Opportunities

First, beauty brands need to understand the immense category growth happening now and in the future. The market for beauty products is expected to reach $571B this year and continues to grow annually by 3.8%—consumers report they expect to spend more in the coming years. The US is currently the world’s largest beauty market, with a 20% share of the market. China follows the US at 13%, with Japan behind them at 8%. And, it’s estimated 25.4% of revenue for the Beauty and Personal Care markets will come through online sales in 2023. The category is growing, and sales are more and more often coming through online channels.

Understand Factors for Ecommerce Success

The opportunity available for beauty brands on ecommerce marketplaces is immense. And beauty brands have a high chance of succeeding in capturing those opportunities for a few reasons:

1. Beauty products are logistically “easier” to sell online than products in other categories. For one thing, the products typically have a higher margin, or a higher level of profit compared to the cost to produce them. Beauty products are also typically small, which means lower packaging costs, lower shipping and freighting costs, and lower warehousing costs compared to products in other categories.
2. Beauty products’ online success is fairly stable due to the “lipstick effect”—even in times of economic crisis or lower consumer cash flow, people continue to buy small indulgences. Other luxury items, like purses and shoes, may see lower sales while beauty products continue to thrive.

Strategize for Key Differentiators

The opportunities and success factors for beauty and personal care brands on ecommerce marketplaces are huge. And, there are common pitfalls beauty brands need to be aware of. With the right strategies in place, these pitfalls can become big differentiators to help brands stand out online. For beauty and personal care brands online, brand control and customer experience are paramount to success.

Beauty brands are very susceptible to counterfeit products and unauthorized sellers—the same factors that can lead to ecommerce success also draw bad actors to the industry.  Without a strong, controlled presence on ecommerce marketplaces, consumers can often encounter damaging brand misrepresentation in the form of outdated, inaccurate brand content, false claims, expired or returned product, fake products, and more. With proper brand control measures in place, brands can build trust with their consumer base and develop a consistent experience customers can count on.

Optimize Your Beauty Brand for Ecommerce with Pattern

Pattern is uniquely effective at helping beauty brands succeed online. We have all of the necessary resources, including expert teams, data insights, and cutting edge technology, to help you optimize your profitability online. We layer our capabilities on top of your success to help you bridge the gap between where you are now and your potential success on ecommerce marketplaces. Ready to reach your ecommerce potential? Get in touch here.