Specialist
Senior executive at Hourglass Cosmetics
Agenda
- Key trends and developments impacting the online beauty retail channel
- Beauty e-commerce value chain and key players, including order and inventory management
- Marketing investments and potential shifts in a post-pandemic environment
Questions
1.
Could you share your top-of-mind expectations for the beauty industry over the next 12-18 months?
2.
Could you quantify the recovery in bricks-and-mortar sales as the economy reopens? You seem positive for it over the next six months. Do you think certain players will rebound faster than others, such as department stores vs speciality retailers?
3.
You mentioned that online vs offline beauty sales could return to 50/50 by the end of 2021. Do you expect that to stay consistent across the next 3-5 years?
4.
To what extent are sales driven by consumers being able to test products? How important is it to restart product testing in bricks-and-mortar channels post-pandemic, considering consumers that repurchase products vs the ability to introduce consumers to new products?
5.
What are the biggest drivers of online sales across product segments? Does one product skew heavily towards online sales vs products that require in-person testing?
6.
Can you compare price points across luxury and prestige vs masstige and mass vs indie? With that in mind, which segment has the highest online penetration and which has the lowest?
7.
You highlighted the lack of promotions for luxury and prestige products. Does a strategy that pushes the online channel need to be promotional to draw the consumer into making a purchase?
8.
Could you outline the key players across the online beauty sales ecosystem?
9.
Which D2C brands stand out in online sales?
10.
How do you assess Elf, which has its own bricks-and-mortar outlet but is also exposed to the mass channel?
11.
What are the merits and drawbacks for a player partnering with Amazon as a sales channel partner?
12.
How significant is the customer data that players must forgo by having Amazon as a channel?
13.
Which platforms used by D2C players offer the most noteworthy technology?
14.
To what extent are D2C players developing in-house vs off-the-rack plug-and-play e-commerce platforms?
15.
Which order and inventory management platforms are you following, emerging or otherwise?
16.
How important do you think technology will be to the future of the beauty industry? Can you expand on virtual testing and AR? Which players have a crucial role?
17.
Which player do you think has a particularly well-executed strategy in personalisation and client experience?
18.
Who are the standouts or laggards around website experience? Have e-commerce players faced any issues there? Is it easy to purchase something on Sephora.com vs Ulta.com or any other D2C player’s website?
19.
Do you think customer experience, navigation and a smoother checkout process pose a significant threat to online sales for players such as Ulta and Sephora?
20.
The loyalty component is seemingly a huge sales drivers for Ulta and Sephora. How might it work in partnerships with Kohl’s or Target?
21.
What are the key characteristics of a successful online product launches, especially for those that have been able to sustain and hold momentum?
22.
Which product launches were you excited about that ended up disappointing?
23.
Which brands are at risk of being left behind after failing to respond address inclusivity and social unrest?
24.
How competitive is marketing spending currently in the beauty industry? How did it develop as e commerce became more prevalent over the course of the pandemic? How might key players approach their marketing budgets amid the current environment and post-pandemic?
25.
What logistical challenges do players face when expanding beyond their home markets, particularly for digitally native e-commerce brands?
