INSTYLE May-June 2019

INCONFERENCE
Despite the number of visits being down 1.7 per cent, the total
salon market is up 1.2 per cent and in-salon services with a brand
like Kérastase remains key.
It’s no surprise that L’Oréal group brands have great access to
consumer research data from organisations such as WGSN and
Mintel. This gives invaluable insight into shifting economic power,
technology, population change, environmental shifts, changing
values and overall trends affect salon visits.
There are 10 main global consumer trends driving what’s
happening in shopfronts and salons right now; age agnostic,
back to basics for status, conscious consumer, digitally together,
everyone’s an expert, finding my JOMO (joy of missing out), I can
look after myself, I want a plastic free world, I want it now and
loner living.
Circles of Subiaco and
Circles on Fitzgerald
Zink the Element of Hair crew
Moving from FOMO (fear of missing out) to the opposite
mindset as information has overloaded our generation, it has also
empowered a new breed that are happy to miss out.
It’s also all about wanting it now – a work life balance no longer
exists. Today, it’s called a work life blend and we are all on 24/7.
“When I’m opening a website it need to download straight away,
if it takes two extra seconds or its not loading I’ve gone somewhere
else,” Olga said.
Olga set the mood for a mindset that is very similar to the
approach many of us have with technology, yet it’s surprising how
many salon websites still aren’t device friendly and super-fast
on mobile.
“I am happy to pay more if it helps me reach my goals quicker
and most consumers are the same. It’s important we make this
achievable. Digitally, there’s a duality where traditional and
technology are blending.”
Competition is fierce and we are not competing against other
salons, we are competing against restaurants, day spas and other
service industries. Passive ageing is a new prose (40 is the new 30,
50 is the new 40).
“We don’t want to age, we don’t want to change, we just want to
extend the good looks that we have,” Olga said.
Traditionally, the Kérastase consumer is in the 40 plus category.
They're affluent, without kids, or they’ve grown up and left
home. The brand is now putting a heavy focus on millennials and
the younger generation who has hair health high on the top of
their priority list, including alliances with trans international
supermodel Andreja Pejić, who shares a lot of values with this
generation. It’s all about a plastic free world of being responsible,
sustainable and sharing diversity on social.
We will also start to see more superfoods transcending between
beauty and hair with Kérastase being one of the first brands
to introduce a beauty regime into hair, or being influenced by
skincare for hair.
Olga also spoke about consumer insights per social group; Gen Y
(a holistic approach to beauty) Generation X (all about preventing
ageing) Baby Boomers and beyond (all about the skincare
centric regime).
Generation Z on the other hand goes to YouTube for inspiration
and information, and will continue to be a focus for Kérastase
throughout 2019 and beyond.
Salon research shows that 90 per cent of women going into
the salon aren’t recommended retail and as such the industry
continues to miss out on further opportunities. It’s the aim
of Kérastase to not just acknowledge but change this figure
through the guest experience - to have a conversation with every
consumer that walks through a salon door and increase the
number of product purchases.
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