Cosmetics Shoppers Don’t Find Digital Attractive

Consumers still choose brick-and-mortar locations when they want to get pretty. According to a June 2014 study by Harris Interactive, 57% of US internet users said they preferred purchasing cosmetics and personal grooming items, such as makeup, shaving products and facial cleansers, in-store. Meanwhile, just 12% favored digital channels for buying such products, and 21% had no preference.

It comes as no surprise, then, that 65% of internet users had never purchased cosmetics or personal grooming products digitally. Those who did venture online to beautify themselves were most likely to use a laptop or desktop computer, cited by 31% of respondents as the devices they used to make such digital purchases. Mobile hadn’t arrived on the scene yet: Just 5% of respondents used a tablet to buy cosmetics and grooming items, and 4% said the same about smartphones.

Even among digital buyers, cosmetics and personal care items aren’t a huge hit. One-third of US digital buyers had bought products in this category in the three months leading up to March 2014 polling by UPS, comScore and the e-tailing group. In comparison, 57% cited first-place books, music and movies, and No. 2 apparel grabbed 56% of respondents.

Results from a March 2014 study by Nielsen didn’t offer a huge amount of hope. When asked about the products they planned to purchase digitally in the next six months, 22% of US internet users cited cosmetics—the second-lowest response.

Courtesy of eMarketer