Buying natural cosmetics: online or in stores?

Picture: Dr. Nicolas Scharioth  from Pollion/ biopinio presented the results of the trend study at the Natural Cosmetics Conference. Photo Karin Heinze

It's ages since natural cosmetics were available only in wholefood stores. And demand that has been rapidly rising for years has meant that natural cosmetics brands have now been listed by other outlets than drugstores and conventional food retailers.  Above all, the online trade has created a lot of space on its virtual shelves for natural cosmetics. Biopinio – mobile market research for the organic sector – has investigated and asked over 1,200 bio-savvy customers about their purchasing habits. The trend: it's not only digital natives who are keen users of the internet – not least as a source of information as well. The  biopinio study examines interesting issues around target groups, purchasing channels and people's need for information and advice.

The panel of biopinio, that took part in the mobile survey in the middle of  September, consisted of 1,222 people who can be considered to have an affinity for organics. According to the data of the Berlin firm Pollion, 63 % of the interviewees consume organic products every day and a further 31 %  every week, and  98% of the panel use natural cosmetics. Female participants predominated (82%), the average age was 35 and there was a high proportion of people from cities with over a million inhabitants (32%). That's the basic data regarding purchasing behaviour in the case of natural cosmetics.

41% have bought natural cosmetics online

The actual aim of the survey was, however, to find out how natural cosmetics customers buy and how they get information. 41% of those taking part in the survey have bought natural cosmetics at least once online – which means that the bricks-and-mortar trade is still in the lead. City dwellers in particular make less use of the  internet. We can assume, therefore, that in cities people are likely to be satisfied with the availability of the products they want in the stationary trade, whereas in rural areas the online shops offer a wider range of possibilities. For example, when asked why they use the internet to buy natural cosmetics the reasons were  greater choice, availability, the sometimes better price, saving time and convenience.

Graphic 1: 75 % of  online purchasers of natural cosmetics buy at least as much in fixed-location outlets.

Graphic © biopinio

Vegans prefer natural cosmetics

The situation: half the people surveyed (51%) said they bought natural cosmetics (15 % exclusively and 36 % predominantly). As many as 29 % stated that half of their cosmetics products were natural cosmetics, and a mere 2 % said that they bought without exception conventional cosmetics. It's not surprising that people who regard organic food as very important should also opt for organic cosmetics and personal care products. The fact that people's style of nutrition is reflected in their preference for cosmetics is, however, an interesting revelation by the survey: omnivores use the least natural cosmetics, whereas vegans use the most natural cosmetics, exclusively or predominantly.

Graphic 2: 76% of vegans but only 38% of omnivores use exclusively or predominantly  natural cosmetics

Graphic © biopinio

Online shops preferred for natural cosmetics

The majority of the group of online purchasers said that they ordered natural cosmetics on the internet monthly (26 %) or every three months (39 %). But the web shoppers frequently buy from fixed-location retailers as well: only 3% bought exclusively online, 22% predominantly online and 43% still mainly in stores (Graphic 1). Also, according to the study, of the 41 % of bio-savvy online purchasers of natural cosmetics over a third  (32 %) buy only online if the brand they are looking for is not available in the fixed-location outlets. Kathrin Tschida, project manager of the study, interprets this as follows:  “Lots of bio-savvy natural cosmetics web shoppers prefer the stationary trade if they can find their brand there.” When choosing to buy on the internet customers trust most the portals specialising in natural cosmetics (48 %) and the online shops of manufacturers (33 %), although they also use generalists like Amazon (31 %). Fewer people (20%) buy natural cosmetics from organic generalists and organic web shops whose main focus is not natural cosmetics.

Graphic 3: On the whole, natural cosmetics portals are preferred  when buying  on the internet

Graphic © biopinio

Of particular interest is the analysis that investigates the buying habits of men and women and clearly shows that women prefer to buy natural cosmetics where only cosmetics are being sold, whereas men are much more likely to buy from Amazon and, compared with women, are in general more attracted to where other product groups are offered alongside cosmetics (specialist organic trade). “Cosmetics sites obviously appeal more to women and website operators should, therefore, think about how they can strengthen the appeal to male customers when they are a part of their target group,” says Kathrin Tschida.

A continuing substantial need for information

The biopinio survey shows in general that a big group of consumers (63% of the people interviewed) get their information online. Here too, vegans (71%) are ahead of omnivores. A greater proportion of women (66 %) than men (50 %) get information online. Surprisingly, 60% said that they get information about natural cosmetics on the internet at least every month. In total, 69 % obtain information from the websites of manufacturers and 50% on  Facebook and other  social media sites and 54% from blogs. The older generation prefers manufacturers' sites; the younger generation are far greater readers of blogs. Overall, before they buy a product, 65% specifically seek information. But as many as 42% stay on the ball and regularly update themselves about natural cosmetics. Kathrin Tschida explains: “Natural cosmetics bloggers are an important source of information precisely for people with a high level of interest, and for manufacturers and retailers they can be valuable cooperation partners.”

Graphic 4: Manufacturers' websites and blogs are well used

Graphic © biopinio

Little demand from the younger generation for on-the-spot advice

As high as the need for information seems to be, younger consumers in particular are not keen on being advised in a store. It's true that over half of customers are given advice in a store, but it's only when they have a specific question. Only 7% regularly seek advice. In contrast, 16 % of interviewees stated that they don't like consulting someone, and especially younger purchasers don't like seeking advice in a store. The younger generation much prefer to research contents, organic logos etc. on a smartphone than to ask sales staff. “They obviously trust their own research on the internet more than the knowledge of the sales people,” says Tschida.  The information on the packaging is an important source for around 80% of customers. QR-Codes are used fairly infrequently (10 %), with the 50+ generation using them most (20 %).

Graphic 5: Younger consumers are more likely to research with their smartphones, older consumers to consult sales staff

Graphic © biopinio

Brand or logo?

The biopinio survey provides the following information about the frequently asked question of what is what is more important for the customer – brand or logo. Natural cosmetics logos play a much more significant role. However, when  we look at the age groups, the tendency is for older shoppers to take notice of contents and younger shoppers to take more notice of brands.