At-home beauty devices are gaining greater acceptance and yet their application potential also appears to be under-marketed according to the recently published Beauty Devices: Global Market Analysis and Opportunities by worldwide consulting and research firm Kline & Company.
Ewa Grigar, senior analyst within Kline’s Consumer Products practice, comments, “Kline’s research is finding less optimal satisfaction with anti-aging and cellulite-reducing/toning products and herein lies a lucrative opportunity for beauty devices specifically targeting these particular skin care conditions.”
Consumer awareness
“Similarly, the possibilities afforded by devices treating eczema, actinic keratosis, or seborrheic dermatitis, illustrate how broad the at-home skin care device market can be. Effectively, the consumer is switched on and there’s a whole body of potential.”
And it is the consumer awareness combined with regulatory requirements and device availability that sees a genuine wealth of unrealized potential awaiting marketers of at-home beauty devices.
Regulations differ from region to region, with organisations such as the FDA in the States or the CFDA in China setting out their own strict guidelines to ensure the consumer’s health and safety, and further legitimize the industry.
New markets
Seeking new markets, several well-established brands in the United States, including No!No!, Tria, and Clarisonic, are intent on replicating their success throughout Europe, while Clarisonic is also expected to launch in South Korea in 2013, says Kline.
“The expansion of sales channels and distribution networks will also continue to be one of the crucial factors to positively affect future market growth,” says the analyst.
“Here too the disparity between regions affords both insight into market positioning and product perception, and reveals much untapped potential.”
M&A
Another growth opportunity has been observed in Japan where electronic home appliance marketers are partnering with cosmetic marketers to offer topical products and kits.
This idea is well illustrated by Panasonic recommending Shiseido cosmetic products for use with its devices, and the mutually beneficial ventures combine the traditional and proven, with the latest skin care technology.
This could also see L’Oréal use its purchase of Clarisonic in a similar way, and could even see more mergers and acquisitions activity as large established marketers acquire smaller marketers to gain market share.