Evolving consumer habits and emerging growth channels create greater exposure. But how can brands tap into new opportunities while mitigating threats, or balance sustainability with authenticity? OpSec’s latest Brand Matters series tackles these questions, this time exploring the booming beauty and cosmetics industry.
We look at the emerging trends reshaping industries, examine the potential implications for brands, and pose questions that can help prepare and pre-empt. In our second installment of Brand Matters, OpSec offers our take on the vibrant world of beauty and cosmetics, sharing our own insights from working with customers across the industry and interviewing beauty consumers. As social selling explodes, challenger brands are experiencing rapid growth through digital-first strategies. But how can you navigate these new online opportunities and evolving threats, all while driving consumer loyalty and sustainability?
Topics that matter: themes from our Beauty and Cosmetics report
The $648 billion beauty industry isn’t just thriving, it’s also braced for change. By working with our beauty customers, OpSec has seen how buying behaviors are evolving, whether the shift to digital or the soaring demand for sustainable products. But not all the new trends are quite so benign. Beauty consumers are seeking dupes online, and these low-cost lookalike products present a unique challenge. With so many emerging trends, the focus now is on how to maintain a prominent, authentic brand in this fiercely competitive market.
Social selling has exploded in recent years, with more beauty consumers using social media to research and shop for new products. Online content creators hold a growing influence, increasingly steering buying behaviors. However, not all influencers align with brand goals; some knowingly promote dupes. Unlike counterfeits, dupes don’t claim to be the original product, nor do they have the same negative reputation as outright fakes.
While dupes may present a distinct challenge, counterfeits remain a persistent threat. Promoting products across multiple online channels can also open the door wider to both counterfeit and unauthorized sales. Furthermore, infringers are adapting their tactics to evade detection. Addressing these evolving threats demands advanced brand protection solutions to both counter counterfeits and protect product integrity.
But it’s not all about tackling illegitimate threats, as beauty brands must also navigate changing regulations. Sustainability is moving from a matter of consumer perception to legislation, with new circularity initiatives coming into play. As well as providing our unique data highlighting the scale of infringement, OpSec’s Brand Matters report delves into these wider regulatory challenges. With this broad focus, The Changing Face of Beauty can help you evaluate existing plans and reinforce future strategies, allowing your brand to shine in a crowded market.
1. Social selling is soaring
Social media is now integral to purchasing journeys, and TikTok Shop has emerged as a major online beauty retailer. In this hyper-digital market, many consumers are turning to influencers to discover new beauty and cosmetic products. Given this, brands can tap into user-generated content to amplify their reach and appeal. But influencers can be part of both the problem and the solution, with many intentionally promoting dupes. Ultimately, companies must exercise caution when making new affiliations, picking partners that resonate with their unique brand goals.
How can you grow your brand affiliations, while ensuring partnerships align with your brand strategy?
2 in 3
cosmetic consumers will buy products due to an influencer recommendation.
2. Cheap replicas are becoming acceptable
Beauty dupes are trending online, with younger people driving the demand. Unlike counterfeits, dupes are often seen as a smart buy, especially with budget-conscious consumers. Since replica products typically don’t recreate brand trademarks or logos, they don’t always cross the line into trademark infringement, making conventional enforcement more challenging. Even so, online monitoring technologies remain essential. Classic brand building and engagement marketing strategies can also shift attention back to authentic products, especially as concerns over dupe quality grow.
How can you align your brand protection and engagement strategies to contend with dupes?
1 in 3
consumers have bought cosmetics or skincare dupes, as found by a recent OpSec survey.
3. Infringers are adapting their tactics
While dupes may prove to be a temporary fad, counterfeits remain a pervasive threat. Infringers are increasingly promoting fakes in private social media groups to evade detection. Product diversion is also a growing challenge, with OpSec finding a rising number of genuine goods promoted outside approved channels. Beauty and cosmetic companies should align their brand protection strategies to fight multiple forms of brand abuse, from counterfeits to diversion. Given these evolving threats, combining physical and digital solutions can also create a more robust defense.
How can you integrate physical and digital technologies to tackle brand abuse?
$5.4 Billion
is the amount the global beauty industry loses to counterfeits every year.
4. Transparency builds trust and drives compliance
Beyond nefarious threats, beauty brands face growing sustainability and transparency demands. Beauty consumers increasingly research brand environmental credentials, while expecting transparency about ingredient origins. Regulators are also calling for greater transparency. New circularity initiatives like Digital Product Passports (DPP) are edging ever closer, and supply chain traceability will be vital for DPP compliance. Gaining this transparency can deliver multiple other business benefits, such as combating greenwashing and reassuring customers about product origins.
Which traceability solutions can support compliance while instilling consumer trust?
50%
of US consumers are skeptical about the sustainability claims made by beauty brands.
Discover the changing face of beauty
Explore essential insights and market shifts in OpSec’s The Changing Face of Beauty report. The business of beauty is clearly booming, with new growth channels and fresh digital trends. But navigating this dynamic market also means contending with sophisticated criminal networks, shifting consumer habits, and changing regulations. Find out how OpSec can support beauty and cosmetics brands in this ever-evolving landscape.