A.T. Kearney, a leading global management consulting firm, publishes a study which identifies buyer groups as an opportunity to increase sales online. Based on representative surveys of consumers in Germany, Great Britain and France, this study has been publishing annually since 2012. In addition to price – which is still the number one reason for online shopping – other purchasing criteria are gaining increasingly in importance: already half of those surveyed look for product information, customer ratings, tips and styling ideas.
A growing market
‘The online sales of beauty and body care products in Europe is set to grow more than eight percent each year up until 2019. That means the online channel reflects four times the growth of stationary retail stores,’ according to Dr. Mirko Warschun, head of the Consumer Industries and Retail practice at A.T. Kearney for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
The study reveals that innovative applications such as online tests, mobile skin type apps, beauty forums and communities with expert tips, illustrated product reviews or complimentary samples with the delivery offer online retailers good opportunities for competitive differentiation. This is also a way to capture the 20 percent of surveyed consumers who say they do not shop online because they need to see, feel and test a product.
‘Retailers and brand owners who also give their customers a feeling for their products online are definitely ahead of the game,’ adds A.T. Kearney e-commerce expert Dr. Peter Pfeiffer. At the same time, British customers expect a high level of convenience. Nine out of ten feel a delivery time of no more than four days is acceptable. About half of those surveyed feel shipping should be …
