As the boom of digital channels has been transforming the scope of activities of traditional business, the FFPS (French Federation of Selective Perfumery) has jointly conducted the first study to analyze the specificities of the customer path with IFOP (the French Institute of Public Opinion). This study shows that far from conflicting, stores and websites are complementary as regards the customer path and experience in the beauty sector.
5 key facts
• The most popular contact points remain specialized stores
• Stores are the preferred solution to test products
• The Internet gets more votes in terms of price comparison
• The place of purchase remains the store
• The Internet represents an answer to the need to be delivered in a pick-up point or at home in-store (click and collect)
What are the most popular contact points?
The Internet is the most widely used contact point to get informed on beauty products, and it is also the favourite medium for women (72%) and people under 35 (78%), while stores are the most popular contact point among men and people over 35.
Which channel should you use to get informed?
If the Internet is used as a comparator to get some upstream information on products and prices (43%), customers will finalize their purchases in-store with the tips provided by beauty advisors (34%, compared to 25% use the web to make their purchases).
Other than tips, the imagination developed by beauty products (sight, touch, smell…) drives buyers to go directly to the point of sale (71%).
Why buy in-store?
• To see products: 58%
• To test products: 41%
• To buy when I feel like it: 36%
• To benefit from tips/services/animations: 34%
Why buy on the Internet?
Unsurprisingly, the main factors are:
• Prices: 50%
• The possibility to benefit from special offers: 44%
• The freedom to buy when I feel like it: 39%
Why Click & Collect?
The three success factors of the Click & Collect system are:
• The interesting prices: 36%
• The special offers: 28%
• The short distance to the store: 26%
‘As usual, customers have the last word. Stores and websites are complementary in the field of beauty, and to succeed, companies have become “omnichannel”’, emphasizes William G. Koeberlé, President of the FFPS and FEPD (European Federation of Retail Perfumers).
Learn more
• All statistics are detailed in French on the
website of the French Federation of Selective Perfumery
.
