The Power Of Black Consumers That Beauty Brands Need To See
The Power Of Black Beauty Consumers + Why Black Beauty Brands Are Necessary
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MADAMENOIRE and HelloBeautiful just teamed up to bring back the popular and influential Melanin Awards, a tradition that highlights and celebrates some of the best Black beauty brands of the day. The editorial team of the two publications personally tested dozens of products to deliver readers with honest and true recommendations. Categories include hair, nails, makeup, skin and fragrance and awards were given out for nearly every type of product from best wig to best eye cream and beyond. If it can be added to your beauty routine, the editors tried it. You can check out all of the winners here.
While our lifestyle brands are dedicated to exploring and elevating Black brands and consumers, the beauty industry as a whole has continued to fall short in this department. However, research has consistently found that companies leave massive revenue on the table by not tailoring their products and advertisements to Black consumers. MN did a deep dive into the spending habits of Black consumers in the beauty and self-care categories. What we found was eye-opening – and should certainly be on the radar of every beauty brand’s marketing department. Here’s what we know.
Black Consumers Spend Hella Dollars On Beauty
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After reviewing research from several of the top research groups, including McKinsey, Nielsen and Statista, we learned some stats that beauty brands should take serious note of, like the fact that Black shoppers spend $473 million a year on hair care products and $465 million a year on skincare products.
- Black shoppers still love IRL shopping. In spite of the rise of online shopping, Black shoppers are more likely than other populations to still enjoy going to a brick-and-mortar store, taking a stroll and exploring new products in person. Brands should be considering how their presence addresses the needs and desires of Black shoppers in real stores.
- Black shoppers take staff recs. Black shoppers are also more likely than other groups to consider the recommendations made by the retail associates in a store. If your brand is carried in a department store, or you have your own store, ask yourself: are the staff primed to recommend your products? Are they engaging with the customers enough?
- Black shoppers consider ads. A significant percentage of Black shoppers consider advertisements to provide useful information about products. They consume most of their advertisements on their phones. If a brand’s mobile ads are not tailored to Black consumers, they’re sleeping on a large customer base who is ready to pay attention to a well-made ad.
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Where Black Shoppers Spend Their Money
shironosov
In addition to learning that Black shoppers spend hundreds of millions of dollars every year on hair and skincare products, here’s what else we learned:
- Almost all ethnic hair + beauty product consumers are Black. Almost all. Ninety percent to be exact. Brands making products in these categories would be well advised to make sure a significant amount of their advertising is focusing on this group of consumers.
- Black men love toiletries. In fact, they spend 20 percent more on toiletries than the rest of the general population. And Black shoppers as a group spend roughly $127 million per year on grooming aids.
- Black women will travel for good makeup. Black shoppers travel 17 percent further than non-Black shoppers to find a cosmetic store with an expert on Black beauty behind the counter. Heads up to brands: put retail associates who are experienced with Black beauty products behind your counters.
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It’s About More Than Looking Good
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So we know that Black consumers are spending more on beauty products than other groups (in spite of many brands falling short in their efforts to cater to them). The question is, why? It’s an answer that’s invaluable to any company trying to reach a Black consumer base.
What the research found time and time again is that, for Black shoppers – particularly Black women – curating and perfecting their appearance is about so much more than just looking good. It’s about cultural pride. In fact, Black consumers are 20 percent more likely than the rest of the population to say they are okay with paying extra for a product if it’s in line with the image they’re trying to put forward.
A strong form of this connection between cultural pride and beauty can be found in Black women’s nails. Black women first popularized long, acrylic nails featuring elaborate artwork. But, as one article in The New Yorker points out (covering a well-received short film about a nail salon in Brooklyn serving mostly Black clientele) there are not enough Black acrylic nail experts who can provide the service. And, now other cultures are appropriating this style of nail. The piece goes onto discuss how it used to be that the French tip or simple manicure was the go-to of the white middle-class woman. Black women carved out their identity and space in the world of nails with acrylic nails that were anything but understated and subtle. These elaborate designs were a way of signaling cultural pride to the world.
Cultures outside of the Black community are appropriating Black beauty trends, but that’s not news. They also dominate the beauty market’s goods and products. If anything, that’s a sign that we need more Black beauty brands and they deserve our Black dollars. Black consumers are ready to support brands that understand their specific need, recognize what a valuable customer base they are, and that go with them on the journey of representing cultural pride in their aesthetics.
RELATED CONTENT: The Melanin Awards Return To Honor The Best Black Beauty Products Of 2022
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