Beauty boxes have become increasingly popular in the United States since early innovators entered the market, such as the launch of Birchbox in 2010. According to a Statista survey of U.S. women interested in beauty and cosmetics, Birchbox is the most well-known beauty box service in the country with 54 percent of those surveyed being aware of the brand. Although the brand awareness of Ipsy Glam Bag is lower than that of BirchBox, 38 percent of beauty box subscribers were customers of Ispy Glam Bag – the same share as Birchbox.
The beauty box industry has the potential for tremendous growth in the coming years. Although 11 percent of those surveyed were currently subscribers, a further 40 percent suggested they were interested in a beauty box subscription. The biggest incentive for those interested in subscribing to a beauty box is the opportunity to discover new products. That being said, companies pondering an entry into the market or those aiming to maintain their market share, must ensure they provide an attractive and affordable product. Among consumers who had unsubscribed from a beauty box service, 36 percent did so due to it being too expensive with a further 28 percent being unhappy with the product range.
Price is a particularly notable product characteristic for those aged 18 to 29, with 95 percent women in that age bracket considering it important compared with 81 percent of those aged 60 years and older. One potential route for beauty box providers to keep prices down is to keep the frequency of deliveries down. This approach would likely sit well with consumers without the desire to drown in a barrage of cosmetics products, with nearly half of the women in the United States preferring to receive a beauty box once per month.
Interestingly, high income levels do not necessarily translate to a desire for expensive subscriptions. Of those women earning more than 100,000 U.S. dollars per year, 63 percent said they would prefer to spend up to 16 dollars per box. After all, beauty boxes are not the only cosmetics subscribers are using. 45 percent of subscribers often purchase products they discovered in their boxes, with a further 44 percent doing so sometimes. Therefore, even those with larger makeup budgets will have the desire to keep funds for those new products they really love.
So as beauty boxes grow in popularity expect to see more product recommendations from your subscribing friends to pop up on your Facebook Newsfeed. For the modern beauty aspirant there is a flourishing community out there for them to explore.
