WSL/STRATEGIC RETAIL has identified four trends in how mobile affects beauty purchases. Here, an excerpt from their third edition of “From Buzz to Buy 3.0, Choose the Right Buzz to Impact Buying.”

Manufacturer, Retailer Sites Rank as Leading Source for Online Beauty Shopping Info
Retailer websites have significantly improved their rating as a shopper destination for information (up 7 percentage points) and now tie manufacturer websites for first place (55 percent). Behind them are independent shopper reviews (35 percent), email alerts from manufacturers and retailers (33 percent) and social media sites (26 percent).

Researching Online Leads to Sales

The Women’s Beauty category is one of the top categories researched online, behind only Clothing and Fashion Accessories (40 percent) and Entertainment and Restaurants (40 percent). About 39 percent researched Women’s Beauty online and 86 percent bought after their research, which is the highest conversion rate of all the categories WSL Strategic Retail measured.

Product Facts Influence Decision to Buy Beauty
Overall, online “facts” about price, product information or where to buy is most influential on beauty purchase decisions (83 percent). Social Media also has strong influence in the minds of shoppers (69 percent), particularly online product reviews/ratings written by peers (60 percent).

Beauty Makes Top 5 Categories Researched In-store Using Mobile

In 2012, nearly half the population (42 percent) used their mobile in-store for shopping information. The top 5 categories searched in-store are: Electronics (39 percent); Clothing/Accessories (34 percent); Restaurants (29 percent); Entertainment (28 percent) and Beauty (21 percent).

For more information and to purchase How America Shops® “From Buzz to Buy 3.0” click www.wslstrategicretail.com