In a"dinner in town" as they say, I found myself next to a charming person who, knowing my professional past, challenged me on a fairly common question. This question concerned a recent publication concerning yet another comparative test of face creams, with as always the unavoidable comparison: low prices and high prices. Apparently, and again, but is this really a surprise, the preferred products were always"low-cost creams" rather than products from selective retail brands.
My neighbor's question was, how do you explain that? I tried to hide my embarrassment by explaining once again that these studies are to be considered with caution, that the means of evaluation are often questionable, that the number of testers is limited and that preferences may focus more on organoleptic or sensory aspects rather than on criteria of real efficacy, or that these studies neglect the quality of the research underlying the product, etc. But I must confess that I had difficulty explaining why the cost differential is on such a large scale, the cheapest products being worth less than 10 €, the most expensive products amounting rather to hundreds!
This question has been a recurring one for many years, but everything is happening as if price differences are increasing while product comparisons are not getting any better. Brands should still pay attention to these questions, because how to explain this noria effect, constantly pouring incredible quantities of products on the market, without these new products necessarily being more efficient than previous products, and without brands regularly asking themselves the question of consumer expectations? The needs of catalogue animation marketing are obvious, but to want to do too much, …
