At the time of writing, I am sat at my dining table in Kennington (London) on one of the hottest days of the year so far. Birds are chirping in celebration of their new-found freedom and there is a sense of calm and peacefulness in the air. Springtime bliss.
But at the same time as writing, there are billions of people in the world all mainly confined to their homes or in some form of “lockdown”. This is not your average Spring. While some countries are showing signs of “opening back up” (and indeed there is some movement in the UK), for many, returning to “normal” is something of a distant possibility and many would now argue is one which is out of reach. It is the “new normal” that we must be prepared to embrace.
It was clear from watching ‘Vogue Global Conversations: The Future of E-commence’ live Zoom chat on 16 April with Remo Ruffini of Moncler, Virgil Abloh of Louis Vuitton and Off-White, Stephanie Phair of Farfetch and the British Fashion Council, and Angelica Cheung of Vogue China (what a line up! Thank you, Vogue.), that the overarching theme was of course the consumer and what they want – and right too. Change will be determined and driven by consumer demand and habits and, as Abloh rightly put it, it is not just any consumer that will drive this change but the young consumer of today that will prove most influential in determining the “new normal”.
They are of course the Gen-Z consumer. Spanning an age range of approx. 10-25 in 2020, Gen-Z are the generation of influencers and truth seekers. Having grown up with a world of information at their fingertips, they are a generation that wants to avoid labels and mass production and rather seek individual expressions of personality. They are channel agnostic and engage with brands who are practicing what they preach. Their ideas, conversations and innovations are already answering problems that many brands have faced for years – how do I have a meaningful conversation with my customer, how can I be purposeful and build a community, how do I get noticed – and how do I translate all of this into sales.
A shake-up to the direct to consumer (DTC) model has been afoot for some time. With the demand for a hyper-digitised retail experience exponentially growing as a result of Covid-19 (come on, there must be some benefit!) and the real risk of a sizeable shrink in the wholesale market, I wanted to explore how the beauty industry is tackling this demand and change. An industry traditionally found on the ground floor of department stores has, over the years, embraced DTC changes and some even argue is leading the way. (Kylie Jenner, anyone?) Worth a total contribution to the UK GDP of £28.4bn in 2018 according to the British Beauty Council, the beauty industry is on a rapid upward trajectory. In 2019, the spotlight on sustainability meant a greater demand for ethically sourced products and more transparency in manufacturing processes. The rise and rise of beauty vloggers continue thanks to YouTube, Instagram and Snap and many brands are canning traditional advertising spend all together. Gen-Z it turns out, likes the personal touch – the sell from someone they trust – a story-teller in a purpose-built community. All of this of course made easier by technology and the increased ability to purchase within app. (Tik Tok is the latest to announce it’s testing a “Shop Now” button, and better still for influencers, it is prepared to split the ad revenue.)
To help give us his insight on routes to market and DTC trends as well as influencer marketing, the future of the store and life post Covid-19, I spoke to Jake Xu, Co-Founder at Shakeup Cosmetics. Just click here to read.
As a commercial lawyer working with many lifestyle brands from fashion to beauty, it is certainly an interesting time to see how brands and platforms, big and small, pivot to take advantage of the opportunities before them. Updating your contracts has never been more important to ensure that both parties know the common goals they are working towards in this new normal. This sudden, but perhaps inevitable, change in the supply chain will mean increased investment in technology and a shift in the logistics landscape – but be careful, these are expensive exercises to undertake; planning and watertight paperwork is a must. Marketeers will need to be mindful of brand ambassador messaging and the use of disclosures – we’re likely to see an increase in the ASA and CMAs investigations as this route to market grows – but carefully managed relationships with talent should help deliver regular and consistent messaging key to any brand right now. (Click on the links to learn more and read our top tips.)
Now, back to that sunshine.
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