Pure Beauty

Can the coronavirus online uptick reveal more about what your customers want?

By Julia Wray | Published: 6-Nov-2020

Daily analysis of e-commerce data is more illuminating than ever before, as beauty brands pivot to online amid Covid-19 lockdowns, says Fran Quilty

<i>Fran Quilty, Conjura</i>

Fran Quilty, Conjura

Data can shine a spotlight on your customers and what they want from your brand, and acting wisely on data can spell the difference between success and failure.

Conjura was set up in 2016 to help brands collect and act on the data that comes from selling online.

With beauty brands switching to e-commerce during Covid-19 lockdowns, there is more opportunity than ever before to understand consumer wants and needs.

Here, Fran Quilty, CEO and Co-Founder of Conjura, tells Cosmetics Business about the benefits of good data analysis and why data should be checked daily to help you stay informed.


What are common mistakes Conjura sees when it comes to companies collecting, analysing and acting on data?

Selling online demands top-notch data analysis skills and not investing in those skills means you are working blind.

There are still too many beauty and personal care brands that aren’t looking at their data to understand customer behaviour and to run their businesses better.

For brands that pivoted hard to online when the pandemic hit, now is the time to ensure they build in daily reporting that covers key metrics such as product replenishment rates; customer churn; the lifetime value of different customers which can be impacted by which device they buy on and which advertising channel brings them in.

Not all customers are created equal; there’s little point investing over the odds to acquire someone who is only going to make a one-off purchase, compared with someone else who the data tells you will be there for the long term.

How has Covid-19 changed consumers’ buying behaviour?

The closure of non-essential retail; changing behaviour where outlets were still open during lockdown (no samples and testers in Boots, Superdrug, etc) and the devastation of duty free saw a dash to online.

Across our beauty brand clients, we saw a trend towards in-home care and an upswing in the purchase of items such as nourishing, pampering face masks and deep cleansing products. With salons closed and people stuck at home, there was a real opportunity and desire to experiment with that product category.

We also saw that consumers who tried a beauty brand for the first time during lockdown were more likely to go on to buy from that brand again than pre-pandemic.

What kinds of consumer behavioural patterns can be highlighted via data analysis?

Because people have beauty and personal care routines, you can predict with a good deal of accuracy when they will be looking to re-order their favourite moisturiser, mascara or foundation based on past behaviour and online sales data.

Brands that have sophisticated online operations segment their customers across as many as 70 different groups based on what they buy, when, average purchase value, items they buy together, how responsive they are to different advertising channels etc, as well as the standard demographics such as age, lifestyle, etc.

But none of this is set in stone and daily reporting and refreshing of key e-commerce data will tell you when a consumer exhibits a new set of behaviours that moves them into a different segment, meaning you need to communicate and engage with them differently.

What kind of analysis turnaround time frame is necessary in order to make collected data worth acting on?

The best teams analyse data on a daily basis and review marketing spend frequently – what worked well to bring in new customers this week might not work a week later.

Regular reporting will also allow you to identify anomalies that are leading to customer churn. A simple glitch in a payments system, or a broken link can be enough to drive customers away – but can be easily remedied before too much damage is done if you stay on top of the data.

What are the benefits of good data management?

Good data management makes for happy customers that will stick with you for the long-term – the holy grail for any brand.

Exciting start-ups such as Carbon Theory go really granular to understand their customers’ buying patterns. They can estimate how long it takes someone to get through a particular product and send them a nudge, and potentially a cross-sell, when the time is right.

A joined-up data approach also allows businesses to align their marketing strategies to stock levels. Fewer than 5% of businesses have a feedback loop between their e-commerce platforms and their inventory, essential to avoid driving a customer to buy out of stock products.

If a brand is concerned they’re not making the most of their data, where would be the best place to begin?

The key is getting internal buy-in, making sure the senior team understands the value of data to drive profitable and strategic growth. There are a variety of options depending on in-house skills and budget available; an in-house data team, an outsourced function, or a combination of the two can all work equally well.

There is, of course, a cost attached to this and take note that managing and interrogating data is too big a job for just one person. How does Conjura see the role of data in driving business in future?

Building an e-commerce function fast in response to the pandemic was a tough pivot, but a brand that has its own online sales channel is in a powerful position.

It has much more information about its customers than it does when selling via a third party. It can use that information to inform NPD and where next for international expansion, for example.

Brands that don’t put data at their core will struggle to properly understand their customers and how they buy and behave. They will also struggle to secure funding in the future as investors demand sight of key data on which to base their decisions.

You may also like