Ways to sell: retail channel innovations in 2016
Reactive, more local models
With reactivity the order of the day, multinationals are seeking out ways to offer a more dynamic retail experience.
The Amazon Dash service, launched this September in Europe, allows consumers to ‘refill’ a select range of products with the touch of a button. Among the ranges on offer are beauty and personal care brands, including Neutrogena, Gillette, Rimmel, Olay, Listerine.
Sephora is one major company making moves to respond to consumers on a more local level. The company this year invested in a regional hub in Poland that uses SAP automation, a system it aims to extend to other Eastern European countries in the future.
Boutique retailing strides forward
A report from market research firm Kline singled out Lush and L’Occitane as leaders in the increasingly dominant channel of specialty, boutique retailing.“Both have consistently registered growth above the industry average and been busy opening new doors each year,” Kline observes.
Boutique beauty retailing are on a high-growth trajectory, with hundreds of new door openings seen across 2015 - 2016.
Travel: driving consumer recruitment
L’Oréal’s MD of travel retail, Vincent Boinay, spoke this year about the huge potential of travel retail for beauty. Millennials are driving dynamic change in the market.
“The future is bright for travel-retail and we will be part of this story,” Boinay asserted. “We will grow in the future. Travel-retail is an image driver and also a recruitment tool. Many people discover brands when they are travelling.”
Shiseido is another major player pushing forward with travel retail, having launched a new global business entity, Shiseido Travel Retail, this year.
Digital: interactive mirrors centre stage
Magic mirrors, which harness virtual reality to allow consumers to try on makeup digitally, have been a central focus for innovative beauty retailing in 2016.
Charlotte Tilbury, Nyx, Sephora and Credo have all been investing in the technology, and Panasonic has taken it to the next level, with a mirror that can print appropriate makeup on the spot.
