A new beauty buyer by 2020, reveals report

Social media platforms, natural products and ethnic consumers are set to be drivers in shaping the beauty agenda worldwide by 2020, according to a future directed analysis published by Diagonal Reports.

Small online communities using social media are influencing how beauty products are assessed and bought by a large number of people. The report reveals how social media has given beauty consumers and/or innovators a platform, with more reach and power, to exchange information about problems and solutions, and broadcast this to the wider community.

Through social media platforms these small groups have raised concerns about chemicals used in beauty products and therefore are shaping consumer attitudes about product formulations. It is claimed that there is a greater awareness and number of consumers buying “alternative”– an umbrella term used for natural, organic, green and minimal processing - products. As part of this a make-your-own movement has materialised, with oils and herbs being the key ingredients for “natural” products being made.

Ethnic consumers are also at the forefront of these developments and will shortly become the majority buyer in the world’s beauty market. Millions of beauty consumers emerging from Asia, Latin America and Africa are set to be drivers in market growth. And it is this emerging market that has expressed the most concern about ingredients due to their use of hair relaxers and skin lightening products.

This future directed analysis is based on trends observed in interviews with beauty experts across four continents (Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa) and 15 countries conducted over an 18-month period. The focus of discussion was on changes in consumer behaviour and buyers' hair and skincare concerns.