The year of recovery is just around the corner, but every industry is not facing a bright future ahead. With the COVID-19 pandemic, people’s priorities and behaviors have been modified. Every sector had its fair share of struggle, from massive losses to bankruptcy. The beauty industry is one of the many sectors that took a huge blow from the pandemic, but not as intense as the tourism industry had.
The social distancing and quarantine measures were enough to incur significant losses to beauty businesses, especially for colored cosmetics. However, there was a surge in skincare products due to people focusing on their bodies to cope with social isolation. Seeing how the beauty industry survived through the pandemic, how will it fully recover during the post-pandemic period? Let’s find out.
The emergence of new beauty trends
The self-care trend emerged during the peak of the coronavirus-19 pandemic, which helped the skincare sector stay afloat. People are focusing on their health more than ever, and that includes skincare. While the colored cosmetics had to take a break, as people did not have any reason to purchase and use them, lifting travel bans and social distancing measures will help the makeup industry get back on track.
The skincare sector may thrive during the post-pandemic period, as people are not seen to go back to their old habits. Many people are starting to prioritize products with natural ingredients and short and transparent ingredient lists, which is excellent news for Korean beauty brands. Clean and natural beauty may dominate during this period.
Beauty eCommerce
For almost every industry, shifting to online platforms was their best shot to survive. Most beauty brands have long been utilizing e-commerce platforms to widen their market and control their product distribution worldwide. Even retailers and wholesalers are investing in their digital platforms to compete with big brands. With the convenience online shopping can provide the consumers, beauty e-commerce will be a massive help to the industry.
Effective technology utilization
Online beauty businesses have focused on their online platforms to reach loyal and potential consumers. However, competing with physical stores will always be challenging. Now that brick-and-mortar stores are resuming operations, most online retailers see it as a massive threat.
Fortunately, these online beauty stores can utilize AI technology to give their consumers the closest encounter they can get from a physical store. These technologies are expected to grow even after the pandemic. Most existing beauty e-commerce websites have successfully adapted to the rapid digitization, but improvements will be seen sooner than expected.
Retailers and wholesalers
Retailers and wholesalers, online or not, are vital factors that help the industry reach its target market. Wholesalers can buy bulk products from manufacturers, while retailers provide more exposure and accessibility to potential consumers. In the beauty industry, online and offline channels are powerful in helping the industry recover, especially for overseas markets like Korean cosmetics.
Fortunately, wholesalers are also utilizing e-commerce platforms. Like wholesale Korean skincare websites, they can provide retailers worldwide with legit K-beauty products at an affordable price. Most wholesale sites also offer shipping around the world, which provides more accessibility.
Efficient customer behavior analysis
Nowadays, consumers are particular about what they need and want. The pandemic has highlighted how quickly consumers’ priorities and expectations can change, and beauty businesses have to keep up with it. For example, beauty consumers are becoming pro-environment. Many beauty brands are starting to consider recyclable and biodegradable packagings, while others are shifting to natural ingredients. Keeping up with these sudden changes is vital in keeping a brand’s relevance and customer loyalty.
Fortunately, today’s technology can help beauty brands have an efficient customer behavior analysis, like Google Analytics. Consumers are getting more demanding as days go by, and they are continuously seeking convenient ways to get what they need, like virtual consultations and live chat support. Although these options have been around for ages, it is only up to this day to be an essential factor for most industries, including beauty.
Final Thoughts
The beauty industry is likely to recover faster than any industry, especially since its ability to adapt is ten times quicker than most industries. Even though the industry has seen better days, the post-pandemic period is likely to accelerate beauty trends and demands, especially in the makeup and skincare sectors.
