When a new year hits, the online world is full to the brim with trend reports: Whatever industry we’re in, we collectively look back at the past 12 months as a whole, to see what was “big”. 

From skincare to makeup, and from retail to branding, I love using these reports to cast my eyes back and see what trends made the biggest impact. However, what I love even more, is trying to take a look into the future!

The truth is, there’s no way to know what will be popular over the next 365 days. Unless you have a crystal ball. But with years of experience in the industry and now working as a brand and retail consultant, I like to think I’ve got pretty good at predicting dominant trends in beauty retail.

That’s why I wanted to share my thoughts with you today. I believe that the brands that effectively communicate the following trends to their customers, whilst adding real value to their lives, will be the ones that see the most success in 2020. 

Beauty Retail Trend 1: Wellbeing

Consumers are investing more and more money into themselves. The rising prominence of “self-care” and “self-love” have definitely had an impact on retail. In fact, “Wellness” is now a $4.2 Trillion Global Industry, having seen a 12.8% Growth from 2015 to 2017 (source). 

For many going forward, addressing and embracing wellbeing will be the first port of call above all else. First will come physical and emotional wellness, then will follow beauty, skincare and the other longer-term elements of the beauty world.

I predict that this will be reflected in various ways in the market. Supplements will become even more of a trend, as people embrace beauty that extends from the inside, out. Take Your Heights, for example, a company that provides a modern take on vitamins with “Smart supplements and clever content for the brain, intelligently delivered by monthly subscription”. 

This will also be reflected in “Athleisure Beauty”, with products that have a focus on being suitable for use whilst working out: People will care for their skin, whilst caring for their body, too! Take Skin In Motion, for example, a whole brand founded by Gia Mills that is “exercise friendly”.  

Wellbeing also encompasses self-care and mental health, both trends that will continue to be embraced by and grow within the beauty industry. I believe that spas, meditations and at-home services like Urban Massage and Beautii will become more commonplace. Plus, to bring the spa experience home, aromatherapy and aromacology will grow in popularity and its principles will be used in more products. Extending out of the beauty realm slightly, home fragrance will also rise in popularity due to this wellbeing trend, with brands like Neom and Aery Living leading the way.  

Beauty Retail Trend 2: Transparency

Consumers are calling to know what is in their skincare, fragrance and shower products! With a growing awareness that so many “toxic” ingredients are in the products we used day-to-day, there will be even more demands for clarity and transparency for customers in 2020.

In this way, the beauty industry is following the lead of the food industry. Consumers are scrutinising ingredients to a huge extent. At one talk I attended from Google,  they claimed that there were 200 million searches on the engine for individual ingredients in 2017! As such, in the coming year, brands will have to figure out how they can best communicate information about their ingredients transparently. One great example of nailing this comes from EVRELAB, which recently launched on FeelUnique to give customers translations for the scientific names of ingredients.

Going forward, it is also crucial for you as a brand to be able to speak to the provenance of your ingredients. Place of origin will carry the same importance as the ingredient itself. You will need to tell the story of how they arrived in your products and, perhaps most importantly, why.

It’s all about helping consumers to navigate their purchase decisions.

Beauty Retail Trend 3: Clean Beauty 

Clean beauty as a trend has been growing for a while now, but in 2020 there will be further demands to define exactly what this means. In many ways, this is an off-shot of both wellness and transparency combined!

Customers will continue to want to use natural products. However, they will not sacrifice high-performance. As such, I predict that more brands will harness the power of nature through using biotechnology to develop natural skincare that does a brilliant job. Take Orveda for example, who “bioferment” marine enzymes and kombucha black tea to use within their skincare, creating products that are as sustainable as they are forward-thinking. 

Shiseido purchasing Drunk Elephant was also a major move that suggests clean beauty is already becoming mainstream. Plus, brands like Albiva Skincare show its popularity is on the rise, with the company being announced by The British Beauty Council as the Next British Beauty Brand. 

Beauty Retail Trend 4: Sustainability 

The need for sustainability is no longer a trend, it’s a reality. Not only will embracing this increase saleability but, most importantly, it will mean that your company is contributing (as it should!) to helping our struggling planet. 

Communicating your sustainable efforts is crucial, but there will be a backlash against “greenwashing” this year. As such, you must ensure that your claims and branding in this respect are grounded in reality and transparency. 

The desire for sustainability will also manifest into a drive towards “slow beauty”, a movement much like “slow fashion”, which will encourage using less products and less ingredients to reduce unnecessary waste. Waterless formulas to preserve natural resources and provide maximum benefits for the user will also become popular, with brands like Clockface Beauty and TRUE leading the way.  

Packaging trends will lean towards all things re-fillable, recyclable and biodegradable, whilst the products themselves will increasingly focus on being “ocean safe”.

Whilst small brands have very quickly embraced these societal shifts, Unilever’s recent eco-friendly initiatives are a sign that corporates are also getting on board.  

Beauty Retail Trend 5: Immersive experiences

This phenomenon boils down to brands going the extra mile to show a consumer who they are, and what their products can do for them, personally.

For a really perfect immersive beauty experience, the brand has to know exactly who they are trying to communicate with, then craft an experience to their needs, wants, fantasies and convenience. This relies on high-quality market and user research.

Pop ups are now the norm and this will continue to be the case in 2020, with customers rightly demanding more from their shopping experiences. Just take a look at the Glossier pop up and The Body Shop concept store for two brilliant examples of immersive experiences done right. 

Beauty Retail Trend 6: Personalisation 

As with understanding your customers and creating immersive experiences for them, there will also be a push towards personalised beauty. That is, products that are literally made for the individual customer!

In terms of skincare, brands will start to get more scientific, considering things like DNA, environmental factors, hormones and pollution to create products or beauty experiences that are totally tailored. Curology, Atolla, Nomige and Romy Paris are already leading this trend.  

Plus, customised and personalised at-home hair colouring and hair care will become more mainstream, with Function of Beauty showing how successful the concept can be. 

Finally, brands will embrace a more “DIY” element to products so that consumers themselves can personalise what they use. For example, “mix yourself” skincare, or “boosters” which can be added to any routine depending on the user’s need. Dr Barbara Strum’s Ampoules, Dermalogica’s Solar Defense Booster SPF50, Clinique’s Daily and Overnight Boosters and Elizabeth Arden’s Advanced Ceramide Capsules are just a few of the brilliant ones on offer. 

Beauty Retail Trend 7: The rise in indie brands

Indie brands will continue to grow, as customers look for more specialised products, based on trends that align with their personal values.

Consumers are hunting for companies that they can connect with, not that vaguely appeal to as many people as possible! And that is one of the biggest strengths that indie brands possess and should embrace.

As such, brands that communicate their purpose clearly and effectively, that have a strong voice or opinion and that have stand-out, founder-lead stories, will find great success in 2020. Consumers will become increasingly “involved” with brands and loyalty is becoming a more tradable commodity.

Deeper brand-to-consumer connections and shared core values are essential in the current climate.

As I said, there’s no way to know exactly what the future of beauty retail will look like. And I suspect that we will certainly get some real curveballs throughout 2020 that none of us were expecting! However, this is how I see much of the industry evolving through the next 12 months.

I suppose we will have to come back in December to see whether my predictions were accurate!

Don’t forget that you can follow me on Instagram where I regularly discuss trends as they develop to stay up-to-date. Plus, sign up to my mailing list so that you don’t miss a new blog post.