Lifestyles are changing and people are becoming more time-poor, forcing many skin care consumers to make practical product choices. Consumers have adapted by choosing convenience and efficacy. Solutions to their current and pressing problems have become the priorities. Product effectiveness has become the most important element with the expectations that results must be measured, products must deliver, improvements must be visible and diagnoses must be accurate.
Customisation also helps firms reach specific consumers—such as millennial generation shoppers, who are known for their fast-changing preferences. As a growing consumer force, young shoppers demand more individualised products than their older counterparts. Due to the proliferation of social media and online publishing, styles and trends change more rapidly than ever before, making manufacturers having to be able to encompass rapid change in order to keep up with shifting preferences.
In skincare this means more than simply providing a greater range of ready made products (although having a greater range is a start). True customisation indicates a manufacturer providing a base serum or cream or gel-cream, to which can be added specific actives that suits the individual. The actual actives used can be changed to target the individuals skin concern be it anti-ageing, treatment designed for oily skin or to boost hydration or provide greater anti-pollution benefits.
In time, we may well see the appearance of skin-care customisation apps, which enable you to, having has a specific skin analysis, to state your particular skin care need so as to be able to pre-order products that suit your individual requirements - or change in requirements. For example, you may be going on holiday and the differing requirements may be for increased hydration - simple enough, but here we are now looking for specifically tailored products that will suit your skin care type.
This trend will soon come to make-up and scents; particular colour palettes and scents that reflect accurately the mood and skin tone of the individual.