Insight by Leah

A recent survey by market-research firm Information Resources Inc.  revealed that the recent downturn has profoundly changed how consumers are spending their money – on everything from how often they wash their clothes to how many lipsticks they purchase.  This downturn has impacted consumer behavior in a way that retailers and companies could never have predicted, and many of these companies are struggling to adjust (as we commented in an earlier post on beauty companies offering more mid-priced goods and smaller size options).  To quote the WWD article: “Women will still be purchasing cosmetic products, but they’ll now buy maybe just two varieties of lipstick instead of 10,” Thom Blischok, president of consulting and innovation at IRI, said. In place of paying a professional salon, things like home pedicures are rising in vogue, “which we wouldn’t have expected two years or even 18 months ago.”

Read the complete WWD article.

Shared by Andrea

Free Beauty Samples is a new online beauty marketing tool providing free samples to potential customers according to their skin type. It is a great service for marketers wanting to reach a group of potential customers eager to try the latest and greatest products. Ultimately, the goal is to generate positive reviews and sales. It was probably developed using a tool called Facebook Connect and the actual site lives inside Facebook. A separate blog (www.fbsamples.com) linking to the page in Facebook offers product reviews (given that the company’s initials are FB, the URL almost looks like a clever play on words with Facebook). If executed well, this can be a phenomenal way for beauty companies to generate valuable insight about their businesses – and to learn more about ’social media’. I signed up for it today (very easy), but due to high demand, I was told that I am on a wait list. I can’t wait to receive my first batch of free samples.

Click here to sign up: http://apps.facebook.com/freebeautysamples/

Click here to view the blog: www.fbsamples.com 

Twitter Profile (52 followers): www.twitter.com/FBSamples 

Facebook Fan page  (156 fans): http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=55526938958

Shared by Andrea

There has been several attempts to leverage scents as a marketing tool but finally a company found a way to integrate it in a practical way. Transparent Packaging launched a "multi-sensorial" packaging that releases the scent of a product when customers rub the surface of the package. Great innovation and this may be the beginning of what I would call "interactive cosmetic packaging".

Cosmetics Design Europe Excerpt:

This latest innovation from Transparent Packaging aims to bring the smell of products out of the packaging without resorting to unsightly ’scratch and sniff stickers’. Read the complete article here.