Essential or not, online beauty products sales are seeing an exponential increase during the global pandemic and counterfeiters are jumping on the demand – is your brand equipped to protect the trust it has built with consumers?
Skin loss, disfigurement and permanent blindness – these are the dangers of using DIY beauty injectables and dermal fillers at home. But, even with these risks, more and more people, fuelled by lockdowns and restrictions of movement, are taking a chance on hyaluronic acid fillers bought on e-commerce sites like Amazon and Alibaba, some for as little as US $100.
While dermal filler brands like Restylane and Juvéderm never sell directly to the consumer – only ever to licensed specialists like dermatologists and plastic surgeons – counterfeiters are taking advantage of the accelerated move of beauty brands to online channels due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Social media surge
In China, a recent report from McKinsey found that online revenue for the beauty industry has risen 20 to 30 per cent during the crisis, and in the UK 15.3 per cent of health and beauty spend is expected to be through online channels by 2024. L’Oréal, a global legacy brand, has even seen a 52.6 per cent increase in its e-commerce sales, representing 20 per cent of its total sales in the first quarter of 2020.
Younger consumers, Gen Z and Millennials, are tuned into trends on social media and are driving the surge in buying beauty products online, with 45 per cent of consumers reporting they have purchased cosmetics via social media, usually Facebook and Instagram.
Image and price conscious, these consumers are likely to be vulnerable to buying fake beauty products with ‘too good to be true’ prices, and counterfeit beauty products sold on social media are reportedly costing the industry at least $75 million a year.
Engaging beauty product consumers
This year will go down as one of the hardest ever for businesses, so revenue loss due to brand fakes could have a bigger impact than normal. Once an annoyance, or an acceptable cost of doing business, losses in sales and consumer trust could spell the end for many beauty brands in 2020.
YPB can help solve both of these problems. Our award-winning and patented technologies protect beauty products all along the supply chain, and with the scan of any smartphone your consumers can instantly engage with your brand. Send your consumers to verified product reviews or video tutorials on how to use your newest product, and using our Connect Platform collect first-party consumer data that your brand can use to create tailored marketing campaigns in 2021.
Attract more consumers to your beauty brand online by offering brand protection and value-add content that they can trust – contact YPB today.
