Today, a preponderance of consumers research and buy personal care and beauty products online as a matter of course. This is, of course, as true in Canada as it is elsewhere in the Americas. “Seven in 10 Canadians identify themselves as online shoppers,” states Robert Levy, president and CEO of BrandSpark International, in a media release about the firm’s latest study.
He believes that consumers “want to find great prices on the brands they trust, discover exciting new products, and demand an intuitive shopping experience and lightning fast service.”
Trustworthy
BrandSpark foregrounds the value of trust, and trades on the expectation that brand trust transfers readily from consumer to consumer. With the results of this year’s BrandSpark Canadian Shopper Study, “now shoppers can find out which online retailers were voted most trusted by other shoppers in a national survey,” says Levy
Stock levels, customer reviews, price value, and convenient shipping and returns are among the features consumers look for online. BrandSpark found that 60% of consumers consider reviews when making a purchase decision online: “Most online shoppers are savvy users of reviews, looking to the breakdown of product scores and reading negative reviews in detail to address or eliminate their own personal concerns and give them the confidence to buy,” according to the firm.
How retailers respond to quality and service issues as well as consumer disappointment matters too: “When real problems arise with products or the shopping experience, it is important that retail and other brands react transparently and quickly to take responsibility and address the issue,” explains Levy. “The best e-commerce retailers have greatly overcome the limitations of a lack of physical stores by providing no-hassle returns and other service.”
Trusted online
Simply put, “the annual BrandSpark Most Trusted Awards honours the retail and product brands that Canadians trust most, those they would recommend to friends and neighbours,” says Levy.
The brands Canadian consumers trust most online in BrandSpark’s beauty and cosmetics category are Sephora, followed by Amazon and Well.ca. In health and personal care, it’s Amazon first, Well.ca second, and Walmart third.
When surveyed about retail sites (rather than brands), consumers ranked Sephora as the most trusted in beauty and cosmetics. And Well.ca and Amazon tied in the health and personal care category.
Trusted health and beauty
BrandSpark also ranks brands on consumer trust beyond online retail and believes such rankings are crucial since over 65% will reportedly try a new product from a reliable brand. “Brands need to continue to provide consumers with reasons to believe in the superior performance or value of their products, and increasingly that is coming from the recommendation of other consumers,” Levy tells the press.
Here’s a selection on the color cosmetic and personal care brands that came out on top this year:
- Acne Treatment: Clean & Clear
- Adult Sunscreen: Coppertone
- Anti-Aging Facial Care: Olay
- Bar Soap: Dove
- Body Moisturizer: Aveeno
- Body Wash: Dove
- Facial Cleanser: Neutrogena / Olay (tie)
- Facial Wipes: Neutrogena / Olay (tie)
- Foundation: CoverGirl
- Hair Colour: L'Oréal
- Hair Styling: Pantene / TRESemmé (tie)
- Hair Treatment: L'Oréal
- Lip Balm: Blistex
- Lip Colour: Revlon
- Mascara: CoverGirl / Maybelline (tie)
- Men's Body Wash: Dove
- Men's Shampoo & Conditioner: Head & Shoulders
- Men's Skin Care: Dove
- Sensitive skin care: Aveeno
- Women's Facial Skin Care: Olay
- Women's Shampoo & Conditioner: Pantene