How Gen Z is Taking Time to Find their Perfect Beauty Match

Characterized by an expressive and self-conscious nature, Gen Z has become a unique force in driving mindful consumption. Millennials may have prioritized simplicity; Gen Z is focused on creativity and self-expression, says former LVMH executive and investor Jorge Cosano. “Gen Z is going to be the generation that’s all about creativity,” he said. “They are very different; they’re willing to invest the time to discover themselves and create content that reflects that.”

Gen Z openly expresses their views and values and are brave enough to demand more experiences from brands. They also speak their “own language” and are willing to invest their time discovering themselves and experimenting with new things.

However, when it comes to brand affiliation, Gen Z expects and demands specific standards to be met by brands to align with their values: they want something unique, exclusive, and different. For that reason, the young generation is driving innovation in beauty, from product value to marketing and more holistic ways of thinking about beauty. As a result, brands have the pressure of responding faster and proactively to current and upcoming trends. 

Here is how at Revieve we see how Gen Z is taking the time to find their ideal beauty match.

‍

Gen Z is Navigating the Web to Self Educate

According to Viacom's study, 8 in 10 Gen Z teens and millennials said, "being yourself" is the phrase "that best fits their definition of beauty, but they don't simply want to be themselves; they want to be their best selves." Gen Z views brands as complementary to who they are. 

Moreover, core to their identity is diversity, inclusivity, sustainability, transparency, and trustworthiness. In other words, Gen Z will not buy products from a brand they wouldn't be friends with.

As Gen Z spends more time on social media than other generations, they are also more likely to follow their favorite brands and use social media platforms when researching and making purchasing decisions than any other age group. Similarly, Gen Z shops for health and beauty products earlier than any other generation. 

Unsurprisingly, Gen Z is arguably the most self-educated and tech-savvy generation to date, with tutorials, information, and evidence at their fingertips 24/7. This informed generation of 'skintellectuals' is both seekers and distributors of knowledge via social media and other online platforms.‍

‍

Gen Z is Craving Online Beauty Experiences‍

Compared to millennials and baby boomers, Gen Z is more willing to use personalized digital beauty experiences to understand their skin health or virtually try-on beauty products before purchase. As relationship-enhancing technologies, such as Revieve’s AI Skincare Advisor or AR Makeup Advisor,  are here today, we can expect them to strengthen how Gen Z interacts with brands and, ultimately, their purchasing decisions.

According to Revieve's proprietary data of user engagement* with Revieve's AI Skincare Advisor in the US, when compared to other generations, Gen Z was more engaged with the AI Skincare Advisor with 80.26 percent completing the experience to receive product recommendations compared to just 67.95 percent of Other Generations. 

Additionally,  in the quest for product information and use cases, 23.08 percent of Gen Zers were more willing to navigate product detail pages to learn about the recommended products. In comparison, only 17.43 percent of Other Generations performed this action. Moreover, after engaging with the solution and receiving product recommendations, 31.44 percent of Gen Zers took at least one purchase action (add-to-cart, add-all-to-card, navigate to PDP), whereas 30.58 percent of Other Generations performed similar actions.

*Aggregated data from all Revieve AI Skincare Advisor solutions in the US between January and June 2021

‍

‍

‍

‍

Gen Z is Prioritizing Skin Health ‍

With up to 80 percent of US residents aged between 11 and 30 suffering from acne to some extent, it's safe to assume that nearly everyone will experience acne at some point in their lives. 

Moreover, a recent study by Klarna unveiled how Gen Zers are spending more money on skincare than any other generation to date, with 41.5 percent of respondents saying it was their top category. 

As a response to the uprising in skincare prioritization, many beauty brands and even those targeted to Gen Zers started to look for options to increase product discovery, infuse personalization, and enhance purchase confidence in the customer journey. For example, Gen Z beauty brand Higher Education recently launched a digital skin analysis powered by Revieve to guide its customers’  to routines that are right for them. 

However, despite Gen Z proactively getting educated about skin health and different products and treatments across all channels, it doesn't remove the challenge of finding tailored information that answers their personal needs. 

Hence, what beauty brands and retailers can do to help Gen Zers today find their perfect beauty match - especially in skincare, is to provide them with personalized environments crafted especially for them - ecosystems where they can discover themselves, purchase with confidence and transparency, and strengthen the relationship they have with your brand.