The online share of sales in health and beauty soared to 16.5% globally in 2020. While the sector has been resistant to shift online, 2020 changed that – and exposed the critical need to drive digital strategies for many in the market.

When the pandemic hit, digitally native brands or enterprises that had already made digital and data management investments were better equipped to handle the major shift to online shopping. However, companies unprepared to sell online saw a devastating and unprecedented drop in sales and, ultimately, revenues.

With eCommerce showing no signs of slowing down, beauty and personal care enterprises must act quickly to expand and diversify their digital presence to drive a more holistic omnichannel experience to better reach the end customer. Thankfully, Product Information Management (PIM) can help.

Are you missing syndication channels?

Beauty buying has historically been an in-person experience, meeting the shoppers’ desire to examine products firsthand and interact with brands in brick and mortar stores. But that’s changing, too. Gen Z and Millennial shoppers lean toward convenience, digital experiences, and direct brand engagement.

Now, like so many other industries, beauty companies must explore new digital strategies to keep pace with their competition. That means getting products into more channels that reach customers where they are – which, thanks to the pandemic, is mostly at home. What digital channels should beauty companies leverage?

  • Online Marketplaces

Amazon’s sales in the beauty category are up to $28.8 billion this year. And similar online marketplaces have grown as go-to shopping destinations in 2020. Customers often visit these sites first when they want to research a product or make a purchase.  If you’re not utilizing marketplaces to connect with customers, they will find other brands willing and able to reach and interact with them on their terms.

  • Your Brand Website

No other site should offer a better representation of your products than your own, right? Yet many brands miss this vital opportunity. Beauty manufacturers must leverage their brand sites to connect with customers and guide shoppers along their path to purchase.

  • Grocery/Pharmacy

With the rise of online grocery orders and curbside pickup options, consumers now face a dilemma when they need to purchase items from the beauty aisle. They still need to order beauty products, but they may no longer want to or be able to browse the products in the store. Beauty companies must fill this gap by delivering engaging product content on grocery sites to attract new and retain existing customers.

  • Department Stores/Beauty Retailers

Even as online channels explode, many consumers still want to buy their beauty products where they have in the past: department store counters and beauty retailers. So, don’t neglect these retailers – maximize their impact by leveraging their websites as well as the in-store locations with a consistent and compelling product experience.

What’s the common thread? Compelling, consistent product content.

Competing across these diverse channels means syndicating detailed product content out to each strategic retailer site. That’s where many beauty companies hit a roadblock. They’re not equipped to consistently and accurately publish product data to multiple channels, each with its own unique content requirements and formats.

To take on this task, brands must manage their product data at scale.

Because beauty customers can’t have the same interaction with your products online as they can in stores, you need to bring the products to life as much as possible with in-depth, accurate product content.

Product Information Management can help.

PIM platforms provide beauty brands with the tools they need to get accurate, consistent, and compelling product content to a myriad of channels. With PIM, beauty enterprises can:

  • Leverage a central hub to organize, cleanse, and enrich product content and data.
  • Utilize Digital Asset Management (DAM) to engage customers with 360-degree product views, hi-def images, videos, beauty tutorials, and more.
  • Ensure data accuracy and completeness with data quality rules and data governance.
  • Syndicate this content and data out to multiple selling channels.
  • Leverage automated workflow to speed time to market.

When it comes to digital transformation, data alone isn’t enough.

A PIM platform can be transformative to your digital strategy. However, a lot goes into getting your product data ready for success. Syndicating product content to a new channel isn’t just like flipping a switch.

Beauty has unique requirements and bringing together critical processes and people is a crucial step. Even if you have a data management platform, putting the right data models in place to properly leverage it takes expertise. And if you get it wrong initially, it could create headaches for you even years in the future.

2020 changed the beauty landscape. Now, 2021 continues to present new opportunities to reach your customers in more diverse ways. If you’d like some expert guidance on the next steps (or first steps) to accelerate your digital transformation with PIM or MDM, please contact us.