Two-Thirds of Gen Z and Millennial Online Beauty Shoppers Will Risk a Product Becoming Out of Stock Rather Than Pay Full Price: ESW

Sixty-seven percent of Gen Z and Millennial global online beauty shoppers prefer to wait for lower prices on products and will risk that an item they want may become out of stock, according to new data released by ESW, a leading global direct-to-consumer (DTC) ecommerce company. 

 

What’s more, nearly 40% of beauty “power shoppers,” defined as those who spend at least the equivalent of $2,500 online annually, are bargain shoppers.

 

The new data also showed that shoppers that brands have defined as its “super fans” respond best to events that emphasize scarcity and exclusivity. In fact, those shoppers are willing to pay full price if they are one of the first people to have the product (21%), or they are one of the only people to have it, like a limited-edition product (25%).

 

ESW’s latest Global Voices consumer survey was conducted in November 2022 in 16 countries with 16,557 respondents. In the report, Gen Z is defined as those between the ages of

18 and 24; Millennials 25-40; Gen X as those ages 41-56; and Baby Boomers 57-75.

 

“In an industry that has reframed itself around scarcity, exclusive drops, and limited inventory, this new data is quite counterintuitive to the trends beauty influencers tout on TikTok,” said Clarissa Schealer, ESW’s vice president of sales, beauty, wellness and lifestyle brands. “Younger consumers are driving the growth in the direct-to-consumer beauty market, yet despite their spending power, they remain very price conscious. Creating limited edition products, or offering top customers early access to new products, can help brands overcome price sensitivity in the beauty industry’s key demographic.”

The study also found that Millennial and Gen Z consumers are more likely to shop across international borders for their beauty products. Nearly 25% each of Gen Z (23%) and Millennial shoppers (24%) made beauty purchases cross-border within the last 12 months.

Overall, nearly 41% of consumers surveyed in China purchased beauty products from online retailers outside of their home country, followed by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) (36%) Switzerland (29%), Spain (26%), and India (22%). The countries these shoppers purchased from most frequently were the United States and France, each tied at 33%, followed by Germany (27%) and the United Kingdom (25%).