Beauty and the COVID Beast: What’s Changed & What’s to Come for 2023

It’s impossible to ignore the huge rift COVID has caused in the beauty industry. With everyone stuck inside, there’s been no need to dress up for anybody else. While it might seem like your Netflix account is judging you for binging a whole season of TV in one sitting, there’s one thing that it can’t judge — how you look. 

With lockdowns and restrictions in place, there’s been no excuse to look nice — even when you do go out, COVID keeps a majority of your face covered up with a mask, rendering make-up and other beauty regimens virtually useless. And it shows. 

2020 forced the beauty industry to make big changes. With huge shifts in customer engagement, buying patterns, and beauty trends, business owners were faced with no other choice — they had to switch their perspective and completely reorient their business plans. 

Now that restrictions are starting to ease in New Zealand, and we’ve begun to settle into a new normal, we can take stock of the beauty world. We spoke to professionals in the industry to determine the future of beauty, in light of the COVID crisis: what’s changed, what’s to come, and how do you make it work as a business owner?

As soon as COVID started to spread across the globe, beauty regimes were pushed to the bottom of everyone’s to-do lists. Social distancing and public safety became top priority, forcing a majority of in-person services to shut down completely. To keep up and stay relevant, the beauty industry had to make a few changes.

In light of lockdown, the rise of online shopping doesn’t come as a surprise. Even before the pandemic, online shopping was growing in popularity, so as soon as COVID hit, this was the first big change the beauty industry made. In New Zealand, there was a huge digital pivot in the beginning of lockdown. $1 in every $4 was spent online, with domestic online sales at a 53% increase. 

Customers started shopping online for a whole range of reasons:

Outside of online shopping, salons and the like were forced to close, shifting their services from in-person to online, where possible. If it wasn’t possible to switch to online services, salon owners had to turn to social media to build an online presence.

Lockdown forced everyone to focus on the simple things in life and strip back to the basics. Staying at home all day with no excuse to put on a face of make-up, people had no choice but to really look in the mirror. As a result, skincare has become the next big thing — while traditional beauty sales have plummeted, skincare sales have more than doubled. 

COVID caused online shopping to boom and skincare sales to reach an all-time high; the combination of the two caused the next change in the beauty world: DIY. 

With nowhere to go and nothing but time on their hands, customers leaned away from in-person spa treatments and learnt how to maintain their beauty regimes at home. Mid 2020, Google Trends showed that searches for “at-home spa day” and “spa starter kit” rose by 900% and 700%, respectively, worldwide. 

As soon as COVID started to spread across the globe, beauty regimes were pushed to the bottom of everyone’s to-do lists. Social distancing and public safety became top priority, forcing a majority of in-person services to shut down completely. To keep up and stay relevant, the beauty industry had to make a few changes.

When it comes to shopping, online is the new normal and, unsurprisingly, it’s here to stay. Most customers have adjusted to the convenience of products and services that come straight to their doors. And they’re likely to maintain the habit, with 93% of online shoppers planning to continue shopping online post-COVID. 

The same has been true of beauty services, with a rising demand for in-home treatments.

In the future of the beauty industry sustainability will be a must. Customers will be looking for products and services that are:

In line with sustainability, clean beauty is expected to be the next big thing. Customers are looking for nourishment, seeking out products and services that are catered towards their health and wellbeing. In New Zealand, customers are starting to prioritise health and wellness over traditional beauty, investing in natural skincare, bath and shower treatments, and stress-relieving products. 

Yes, restrictions might be easing in some parts of the world, but that doesn’t mean customers will be prepared to slack off in the cleanliness department. As beauty services and in-person shopping experiences return to normal, customers will expect the same health and safety standards, such as:

Maintaining social distancing measures and health and safety standards will reassure each and every customer that beauty businesses are  taking all necessary precautions to help stop the spread.

The beauty industry has had to overcome a lot throughout this pandemic, but all hope is not lost. By thinking on your feet and bringing in a few strategies, you can do more than just stay afloat in the beauty industry — you can thrive. 

If COVID has taught us anything, it’s that customers need to feel heard, especially in a time of crisis. Your business should always meet the needs of your clients as their circumstances change. By matching your products or services to the changing needs of your customers, you can guarantee the success of your business. 

Pre-COVID, during COVID, and even post-COVID, eCommerce will always be worth investing in. We live most of our lives online and it shows in our shopping habits; customers are going to continue shopping online, pandemic or not, so it’s well worth your time to invest in your online presence.

Actively engaging with your customers online is the ultimate marketing strategy. Essentially, you should be maintaining the plus sides of shopping in real life, but online. Try upping your game by:

If you’re worried about what the future of the beauty industry might look like, you can relax; there’s nothing to worry about. Post-COVID, the beauty industry is actually expected to take off, running faster than it ever has before. Despite the economic loss caused by COVID closures, there’s hope on the horizon — industry revenue is predicted to grow over the next five years, as consumer trends recover in New Zealand. 

Customers are likely to return to their beauty regimes more excited than they were before the pandemic, after missing out for so long. If you use this anticipation to your advantage, you can build your business up stronger than it was before.

Much like the rest of us, the beauty industry has been through a lot in 2020. In the process, the industry experts have learned a lot, coming out the other side better than ever. If you’re looking for a career that’s bound to help you grow, the beauty world has a lot of love to give.