According to research carried out by market research firm Mintel, if women think that a private label color cosmetic’s quality and performance is on par with a national brand, they will buy it.
Income breakdown
Results showed that 64 percent of women in the $100k-$149k income bracket plan to continue buying some store brand/private label color cosmetics and some brand name color cosmetics.
Meanwhile, only 50 percent of those in the $50k-$74k and 48 percent in the $75k-$99k bracket say the same thing.
“This does not mean higher income women do not purchase higher end, national brands,” notes Kat Fay, senior beauty analyst at Mintel. “But they can be selective, often spending more on one category or occasion than another.”
Changing behavior
And as the times are changing so are women’s shopping habits, with a third of the survey respondents saying they are buying store brand/private label cosmetics more now than they did this time last year.
More than half (51 percent) of the women said they purchased private label because it offered the best value for the money.
Meanwhile, 33 percent were motivated to try a private label cosmetic because of a coupon or special offer and 26 percent of shoppers went on a recommendation from a friend or family member.
Product demos
“In addition to recommendations and advertising, shoppers are influenced by in-store cosmetic demos,” adds Kat Fay. “Demos show a product in action, teach shoppers how to properly use an item and allow them to ask pertinent questions. Retailers say demos always spur sales.”
However it is not all about private labels, as of those who don’t purchase private label color cosmetics, nearly half (49 percent) said they are happy with their brand name product and have no desire to try anything new.
Thirty two percent say they never thought to try something else and 18 percent fear that store brands use cheap or inferior ingredients.