The increasing use of smartphones as a way to shop online is changing how consumers discover new products and how they search for them, according to the Global Beauty 2024 report.
The traditional method of using a search engine to start a product search is declining, with GenZ less likely to use Google, Bing etc than other adults.
Among US consumers, GenZ consumers are likely to start looking for a product to buy on social media. 43% of GenZ shoppers in the US start product searches on TikTok. This is in comparison to just 19% of the overall population. 42% start on YouTube, according to Jungle Scout’s Consumer Trends Report.
TikTok as a marketplace
TikTok’s audience skews towards GenZ with 40% aged between 18 and 24. In the UK alone TikTok has more than 20mn users and that figure continues to increase, as does the length of time the audience spends on the platform. The average user spends 70 minutes per day engaging with videos. This captive audience is a huge draw for brands targeting younger generations and is particularly effective for cosmetics and beauty brands.
The introduction of TikTok Shop was an obvious next step for the social platform enabling already-engaged consumers to discover products and buy them without having to leave the app. In 2023, TikTok made it easier for brands to connect their ecommerce and social channels through the launch of its TikTok for Shopify app. This gives Shopify merchants the capability to create TikTok ad campaigns, synchronise their product catalogue and sell products through in- feed videos and live broadcasts.
One of the brands using TikTok to drive in-the-moment excitement is e.l.f. The brand has “thrived on TikTok Shop by engaging with the community and building exciting, culturally relevant moments,” says Nicolas Le Bourgeois, Head of TikTok Shop US Operations.
TikTok Shop is putting the social platform on a trajectory to becoming a tier one marketplace representing “a paradigm shift in online marketplaces,” according to Sarah Znideric, VP of Global Partnerships at Linnworks.
“Its unique approach, coupled with a commitment to ‘community commerce’, positions TikTok as a formidable player in the evolving ecommerce landscape,” she says.
And RetailX’s marketplace commentator Paul Skeldon agrees. As he explains in the European Marketplaces report, “while still dwarfed by Facebook in terms of users numbers, TikTok has seen web visits hit 24bn in the 12 months to October 2023, only just shy of the 29bn seen by Amazon.”
While the company was forced by the Trump administration to split its US operation from its Chinese owners – which has a 1% investment from the Chinese government – TikTok has exploded in use in the West, with 130 million downloads in the US alone and some two billion worldwide. With 60% of GenZ in the US using TikTok and one in three TikTok users who see a product promoted in their feed going on to buy it, the move makes a lot of sense.
This approach of offering engagement and endorsement, along with the ability to then go on to buy the product, increasingly taps into the growing interest, especially in China, in creating ‘super apps’ that do a wide variety of tasks in one place.
However, TikTok has been banned already in India and its future in the US is looking uncertain.
Livestreaming: an eye-opener for Sephora
Livestreaming has been a growing trend for cosmetics and beauty brands in recent years following the rise of this so-called shoppertainment channel in Asia. In Europe, Lady Gaga used livestreaming to launch her Haus Labs brand on Sephora enabling her to engage
directly with consumers. Sephora has found the popularity of livestreaming increasing with consumers and it is an area that it is watching closely.
While not sharing exact figures of the impact of livestreaming, the company has admitted it has been performing beyond expectations in terms of sales and engagement. “I was expecting high engagement, but not how much people appropriated it for themselves and how they actually shared about it. That was really, really an eye opener,” says Alexandre Meerson, Chief Digital, Data and Technology Officer, EMEA, Sephora.
Read an exclusive interview with Sephora in the full Global Beauty 2024 report. There is also an interview with Avon’s head of sustainability.
The report shows an industry driven by newness, and consumers passionate about their purchases and loyal to certain brands while also being enthusiastic about beauty overall as they seek out the latest products and ‘must-haves’.
Stay informed
Our editor carefully curates two newsletters a week filled with up-to-date news, analysis and research, click here to subscribe to the FREE newsletter sent straight to your inbox and why not follow us on LinkedIn to receive the latest updates on our research and analysis.
