Where is the beauty industry headed? What are the next big consumer demographic trends? How can industry professionals prepare themselves for the jobs of the future?
The answers to those questions and others were answered by experts from The Future Laboratory, a leader in trend forecasting, consumer insights and brand innovation and The Boston Consulting Group (BCG), one of the world’s leading management-consulting firms, at Cosmetic Executive Women’s May 1 event, Future Focus: Game Changing Insights on Trends & Talent. In 2007, BCG partnered with CEW to investigate trends of a work/life balance among women in the beauty industry. This year, BCG once again has collaborated with CEW to answer a new set of questions.
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It used to be that beauty marketers focused on targeting women 18-49 years old. In reality, that demographic has grown. The 60+ demographic, also known as the Flat Agers, is growing. And instead of concentrating on their age, beauty marketers should be focusing on the Flat Agers‘ mindset.
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In an impressive survery, it was found that women over the age of 65 are using social media — that’s a whopping 43%! The Flat Agers are growing fast and actually have more in common with Millenials than Generation Xers or Yers. Although one might think the relation Flat Agers may have with Millenials coincide with the concept of looking younger. Flat Agers actually are embracing their age. They don’t want to look 20 years younger. They want to look good for their age, improving their looks by “touching up” instead of taking drastic measures. The key to the next big trends in beauty all has to do with being social and engaging with consumers constantly online.
“At this first-of-its-kind event, we are bringing together these two recognized leaders in trend forecasting, to share proprietary new information that will impact the future of the beauty industry,” said Carlotta Jacobson, President of CEW. “We want to equip our members with business-driving insights on what’s next for beauty.”
During the session, Lucie Greene, Editor at LS:N Global, the trends network at The Future Laboratory, uncovered important shifts in consumer attitudes and the next key demographic segment that will impact the beauty industry. Cathrin Bowtell, Learning & Development Manager, NYM, and Sarah Willersdorf, Principal, at BCG shared the findings of a survey fielded exclusively for CEW among the top cosmetic companies and their employees, revealing the skill sets and talent that will be required for future beauty innovation. Executives and survey respondents pin-pointed 5 key industry challenges as well as the implications on talent:
Universal Focus: Need to successfully recruit and integrate talent from outside the beauty industry.
Retail Environment: Make it more complex with a knowledgeable team of experts with a grasp on the local and multicultural market; operational skills at an all-time high, especially on the junior level.
Digital: Need to aggressively recruit and win digital talent by competing with other industries. Social media knowledge is a core skill.
Increased Competition & Pricing Pressure: More specialist roles ex. retail, and more integrators. An analytical/quantitative skill set is now essential to lead function.
Consumer Diversification: International talent critical, though difficult to successfully integrate ethnic diversity and understanding of cross-ethnicity trends.
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What do you beauties think of these beauty industry trends? Are you a Flat Ager? What are you interested in the beauty world? How do you want your age group to be represented?
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