Looking Good with Mobile: Trends in the Beauty Purchasing Habits of African American Women

Today, Social lens Research in partnership with MocoSpace  and Identity launched a new study on the mobile beauty habits of African American Women.  

The study found that 73% of African American Women versus 64% of the total population surveyed use mobile to research products, find deals and compare prices.

The mobile-optimized survey was fielded via the MocoSpace platform over a seven day period, recruiting 9,209 in the US without an incentive. African American women (1,874) were 20% of the respondents. Identity offered strategic input and in-depth market expertise.

Key findings on the mobile beauty habits of African American Women:

• More likely than the total population to use mobile to find deals:
  • 41% versus 32% compare prices
  • 39% versus 31% look for deals on mobile

• Over-indexing on using mobile to research products:
  • 35% versus 27% use mobile search
  • 23% versus 18% ask friend for advice
  • 29% versus 24% check reviews for a product
  • 15% versus 11% check social profile for product

• More interested in engaging with brands on mobile:
  • 40% versus 33% want to use mobile site
  • 31% versus 22% want mobile deal alerts
  • 27% versus 22% are interested in downloading a brand’s app

• Have a higher likelihood to purchase via mobile:
  • 21% versus 11% use mobile to purchase

The study’s top implications beauty manufactures and retailers:

Connect with consumers wherever they are and offer opportunities for interaction: 

“The findings from this study underscore the significance of beauty & grooming to the AA Market and the need to connect with them wherever they are. Furthermore it cements the mobile platform as a leading “passion” channel to sustain conversations, share information and be a platform of expression for this dynamic community.” Deidre Smalls-Landau EVP Managing Director, Identity

Build trust by engaging and rewarding your community: 

“The percentage of people using and trusting their mobile devices to not only research products but also purchase products continues to get higher. This is a great opportunity to capitalize on this behavior by creating a mobile and social friendly brand experience across all mobile and tablet devices. Consumers will always like to be recognized in a relevant way. Brands will see greater success with their social media efforts when they build trust with their target audience through relevant conversations, rewards and information.” Tom Dorf VP of Advertising Sales, MocoSpace

Lead with mobile to gain a competitive advantage:

“The study highlights that multicultural consumers are mobile first for beauty product discovery. Mobile marketing offers a mostly untapped opportunity to craft targeted campaigns that resonate, engage and meet the needs of multicultural consumers. Companies that use mobile effectively will have the advantage with this consumer segment. Its time to lead with mobile versus using mobile as an add-on.”  Julie Diaz-Asper Founder, Social Lens Research.

Where to start?

Clear opportunities exist for beauty manufactures and/or retailers to better reach African American women via mobile marketing campaigns. The top opportunities are:

1. Offer compelling deals that are easy to find on your mobile friendly site and via social channels.
2. Leverage social channels to build trust with target audience and create positive conversations on featured products.
3. Look at opportunities to engage influencers to build relevant, useful and mobile ready tips on how to use your product.
4. Reward social sharing with fan recognition and exclusive deals.

See more details about the study in the press release here:

Press Release: African American Women Mobile Beauty Habits

Below is an infographic with a summary of the report finds:

Want to better understand African American Women’s beauty needs, trends and interest? Take a look at Youtube!

A quick scan of influencers in the African American beauty space showcases the power of tips and tutorial videos with some influencer having 30 million plus videos views.

Here are some examples:

Naptural85:

Bio: Hair Vlogger. Life Blogger. Try to keep it simple & fun, while retaining a healthy level of GOoFineSS.

YouTube: 439,250 subscribers, 33,588,967 views

Twitter: @Nap85  42.1K

ItsMyRayeRaye

About: I’m just a silly girl who loves to share my favorite makeup looks, tips, tricks, and products! So, come play in makeup and laugh with me!

Youtube: 472,233 subscribers, 18,372,135 views

Twitter: @itsmyrayeraye, 15.7 K

What do you think is the best way to engage multicultural consumers on mobile?

More about the study partners:

MocoSpace is a leading social media destination on the mobile Internet, with over thirty-five million registered users. Every day, users spend more than one million hours finding new friends, chatting, listening to music, watching videos, joining Fan pages and playing games from all web enabled devices. For a trendy, multicultural, on-the-go generation, MocoSpace is the mobile community of choice. Launched in 2005, the company is based in Boston, Mass., and is backed by General Catalyst and Softbank Capital. For more information, visit www.jnjmobile.com

Identity, part of IPG: At Identity, we pride ourselves on being marketing and media enthusiasts who design blueprints of the consumer experience that drives culture. These blueprints highlight cultural shifts, embrace emerging media, drive media innovation and use robust analytics to activate real business outcomes. We are the IPG Mediabrands solution when clients seek to grow their business with the multicultural and influential segments of African-Americans, Hispanics and Tastemakers. Our underlying philosophy of integration and innovation enables us to execute Total Market plans with cultural nuances that drive results.