Heather W

FIT Capstone Findings: What Beauty In A Digital World Means to You



Andrew Videira of Beiersdorf, Inc.

Last week I attended the Fashion Institute of Technology's Beauty in a Digital World Capstone Presentation, focusing on what beauty will (or should) look like in the year 2020. Spoiler alert: it's going to be pretty amazing! The 2013 class from the Master's of Cosmetics and Fragrance Marketing and Management imagined what possibilities lay ahead in the digital age for the beauty industry in their the Capstone Presentation.

They should know, the program is made up of marketing and account managers from top beauty industry companies like Chanel, Estee Lauder, L'oreal, LVMH, and Beiersdorf. I was shocked to hear that the beauty industry has a little room to grow in integrating digital campaigns into actual online sales. Currently only 5% of all beauty sales take place online, at least 95% taking place in store. The more I think about it, though, I get it. We want to touch, taste, smell, and see a product with our own eyes before purchasing. Additionally, cosmetic purchases always seem (for me anyways) to be more impulsive or to meet immediate needs. Like... I'm going to a special event tonight, I want to buy a new lipstick. I'm not buying that online, I'm running to Sephora on my lunch break. Beauty is instant gratification. Buying something online and waiting is not.

Addressing the changes necessary for meeting consumers changing expectations in the digital age were the catalyst for the Capstone research and presentation 'Beauty in a Digital World'. What can we, the consumers, expect in the future? In a nutshell, customized techonology that helps comapnies focus on our individual and specific cosmetics and skin care needs, one-on-one targeted micro-campaigns that will provide us advertising on products that meet our beauty needs, even before we know what our needs are as indicated by our online data (past searches, what we've "Liked", what we've been Tweeting about), and last but not least the research called for free, same day delivery of beauty products. You won't even have to sneak in that shopping time on your lunch break.

The FIT Beauty in a Digital Age Capstone Presentation will also be presented at HBA Global in New York City on June 18th and 19th and at Cosmoprof in Las Vegas in July. The full research white papers can be accessed at http://www.fitnyc.edu/5518.asp. A special thanks to Nivea for inviting me to the Capstone Presentation and congratulations to Andrew Videria (pictured above) for winning not one but two awards for his leadership and academic achievement.
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