Seymourpowell is a multidisciplinary group of design researchers, strategists, brand experts, product, UX, UI designers and makers based in London. The company has a 30-year track record of imagining and then creating award winning designs and world-first innovations. Mariel Whatley-Brown is a featured speaker at the upcoming In-Cosmetics North America, which will be held Oct. 11 and 12 at the Javits Center, New York, NY. Here's Whatley-Brown's take on consumer behavior.


Q. How does Seymourpowell collect the data on consumers?
A. Seymourpowell collects data on consumers in two ways:
The first method is through working at a cultural level, exploring big social shifts and assessing the data around these transformations. 

The second way is by working at an individual level; complementing a macro view point. We often meet consumers in their homes, spending time understanding their attitudes and habits. We are also beginning to work with much more progressive users, who are early adopters of new trends. This gives great insight as to what's around the corner in terms of new consumer perspectives and behaviours.

 
Q. Can you give an example of the difference between what a consumer says and how he/she behaves?
A. Through our research into consumers, we find that what people say they do and what they actually do are often very different. For example, we recently conducted a global study into the future of beauty. One of our interviewees told us about a product that he loved, however when we later witnessed him using the pack to apply his makeup, he had replaced the applicator for another. When queried, he told us that he wanted something easier to use one-handed, particularly when he was filming makeup tutorials for his YouTube channel. 
 

Q. How is this relevant to the global beauty industry?
A. For the global beauty industry, this illustrates the importance of going beyond focus groups; demonstrating the importance of seeing your products in action. It is still the best way to improve your customers’ experience, while it is also becoming more important for brands to think about how their products and packs are performing on digital channels too. For example, as more people begin to buy online, are pack graphics optimized to work well when viewed by shoppers using websites? 

 
Q. Has there been a growing disconnect among consumers between their words and actions in recent years and why?
A. Having interviewed progressive beauty consumers around the world, I wouldn’t say there is growing disconnect. From these interviews, an emerging theme we found in every region was that more people were defying traditional beauty segmentations. We found that consumers were beginning to mix up their looks day-to-day, instead of remaining firmly in one tribe.

Interestingly, for beauty brands amidst this flux and experimentation, consumers are more drawn to brands with a strong internal compass and want brands with distinct personalities. This suggests that instead of trying to be too many things to too many people, it seems the brands that will have the greatest future success are those that do a few things well, with a strong sense of self.



Mariel Whatley-Brown will present a session entitled ‘Understanding the beauty consumers of 2020’ on Oct. 11, between 10:45-11.30  in the Marketing Trends & Regulations Theatre at In-Cosmetics North America. For further information, click here.


For free show entry, register here.