Covid-19 accelerates new solutions to replace testers
Most beauty retailers around the world remain closed or start opening their doors with a series of restrictions, but it is certain that these businesses will never again have the same contours they had when they were forced to close due to the Covid-19 pandemic. . Temperature checks, mandatory masks for customers and employees, and strict rules for product experimentation are among the changes beauty retailers will face.
One of the major challenges will be to adopt safer hygiene strategies and practices to replace traditional ways of testing products at points of sale, which will give way to individual samples, which offer unique and safe applications in various categories, especially fragrances, makeup and care. with the skin.
individualized samples
Daniel Almeida , commercial director of Adhespack Group , a Brazilian company that offers sampling technologies, analyzes that, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the need for individualized samples will become evident. “The trend is towards sampling solutions where the customer has a safer and more hygienic experience and also where contamination risks are minimized”.
He also predicts that, with the revitalization of cosmetics consumption, there will be a greater demand for samples. “It’s an important demand to complete the customer’s purchase journey. Even if the purchase is online, but experimentation is still done offline,” he says. Almeida also bets on the expansion of purchases and sample experiences through autonomous systems. “Our consumption format will change a lot in the coming months and years”.
Volney Camargo, executive CEO of the Adhespack Group, which has representatives in the United Kingdom, Italy and Spain and its own office in Madrid, assesses that in England, Spain and other European markets, the trend of reducing testers was already taking hold, but the pandemic will speed up this replacement process for individual samples.
“We have already received several inquiries from European partners in search of solutions to replace the testers”, says Camargo. Here, stores are still closed, but the Adhespack Group has also been consulted by large companies in the beauty market interested in experimentation alternatives.
Adhespack Scent Crystal
technology ready
In the traditional way of experimenting with lipsticks and perfumes, the tester is in the store and several people share it, facilitating the transmission of germs and viruses. “Both the products and the surface of the packaging or the scent strips can be contaminated”, warns Sergio Picciarelli , director of marketing and innovation at the Adhespack Group. “Our technology can already replace the tester,” he says.
According to the executive, Self Sampling automatically distributes samples at points of sale and places with a high flow of people. Samples, which are more hygienic and for single use, may contain perfumes, lotions and makeup items such as lipstick. “In lipstick sampling, for example, the person takes a card and the sample is just for them to see the color and texture, without having to share”.
Another advantage pointed out is that the person receives information about the product along with the sample. “It is also possible to print a QR code for the consumer to make the purchase directly at the point of sale at a discount or later access the brand’s e-commerce and receive it at home”, points out Picciarelli. As the machine is connected, reports are generated in real time, with information such as the number of units per store or per product, for example.
Volney Camargo, Sergio Picciarelli and Daniel Almeida
approach sensor
The company is already preparing for the new times with adaptations in Self Sampling to ensure even more health safety. Picciarelli adds that the touch trigger will be replaced by an approach sensor. “The person won’t even need to touch the screen to take their sample.”
“I believe that this type of sampling is a trend that will grow a lot, not only at points of sale, but also in e-commerce, joining the online with the offline”, he predicts, remembering the difficulty that it is for the consumer to buy a perfume or makeup without experimentation. That’s because, many times, people buy a perfume and return it with the broken seal because they didn’t like it, causing damage. The samples, in addition to reducing the losses of returns, also help to increase sales in e-commerce.
Due to the forecast of high demand, the company also accelerated the Digital Sampling project. Before buying, the person requests a sample and receives it at home to test. If you like, you can scan the QR code on the back of the sample to access the brand’s e-commerce. “This entire process is managed by Adhespack. We produce the samples, take care of the stock, the distribution and do a digital follow-up to verify that the person received the sample, scanned it and accessed the brand’s website. We also generate reports of all this”, explains the executive.
Another solution for the company is cards with samples of fragrance, makeup or creams, which can be distributed at the POS, sent by mail or pasted in catalogs and magazines. In addition to Self Sampling, Digital Sampling and cards, the Adhespack Group also offers several alternatives for sampling such as sachets, flaconettes and tubes.
Adhespack Self Sampling
Connecting with consumers
Certainly, brands will have to increasingly look for ways to stay connected with consumers to leverage online sales. K-beauty-inspired Glow Recipe, for example, has launched its first digital sampling program in the United States and offers fans the opportunity to try one of its yet-to-be-released products by submitting a “top secret lab sample”, along with online orders over $50. For the consumer, it’s a chance to try a product before everyone else. Other brands also already adopt the practice of sending samples along with all orders.
According to a Mintel survey of beauty retail conducted in the United States, 53% of millennials (ages 25-32) said they had purchased beauty or personal care products on Amazon in the last 12 months, with 43% of consumers cited product samples as motivation for more online beauty purchases, and 23% pointed to rewards for online engagement as something that would also encourage those purchases.
“The full impact of this public health crisis is yet to be determined, but some things remain certain: patterns of cleanliness, sampling, and the overall purchasing process will be forever altered,” concludes Lauren Goodsitt, Senior Global Beauty and Personal Care Analyst. from Mintel.
By Estela Mendonça
Cosmetic Innovation