After obtaining the redemption code, a small sample gift box will fall from the take-out of the skin care product dispenser, which contains different types of skin care product experience packs. The Beijing News shell financial reporter observed that more and more skin care products sample dispensers have appeared in major shopping malls recently, and almost every machine has a long queue in front of it. Facing Gen Z consumers who are more focused on freshness and experience, this more engaging and exploratory way makes the process of getting a trial outfit full of fun.
In the 1950s, the founder of Estée Lauder's eponymous debuted a trial outfit that was distributed freely to customers, successfully opening up the brand's market. Nowadays, with the vigorous development of e-commerce, small samples have become one of the means for cosmetics brands to attract consumers, and the original small samples of only a few milliliters have "evolved" into tens of milliliters of medium samples and large samples. Those small samples labeled "non-for sale" no longer simply carry the function of trial, but appear as a replacement, which undoubtedly promotes the development of the "small sample economy", and offline collection stores have also mushroomed.
Consumers: Two cups of milk tea money can experience the "happiness of the noblewoman"
Different from traditional cosmetics stores, most offline sample product collection stores are "warehousing mode" for consumers, and the minimalist industrial style allows people to "immersive" shopping in beauty warehouses, large to shelf display, small to product labels, all giving consumers a new shopping experience. There is no shopping guide sales, you can try the model at will also break people's "social fear" psychology, even if you do not consume in the store will not appear embarrassing, you can even in the store of the net red wall at will "punch" to take photos, and these are just the "emotional value" provided by the business for consumers, the real attraction to consumers is the protagonist in the store - small samples.
Consumers walked into the Beijing Sanlitun HARMAY Mei Beauty Collection Store. Photo / Beijing News shell financial reporter Yu Meng'er photo
On February 25, the Beijing News Shell financial reporter came to the HARMAY Mei Beauty Collection Store in Sanlitun, Beijing, where the black and gray decorations emphasized the "sense of premium" preferred by young people. Even on weekday mornings, there are many consumers in the store, holding shopping baskets to pick up in front of the rotary shelves that mainly display lipsticks, perfumes and skin care products.
In the Beijing Sanlitun HARMAY Mei Beauty Collection Store, consumers choose small samples. Photo / Beijing News shell financial reporter Yu Meng'er photo
Estée Lauder for 70 yuan, Sea Blue Mystery Essence for 99 yuan... The Beijing News shell financial reporter noted that the price of various big brands and small samples here is only about 100 yuan. Lele (pseudonym), a young female white-collar worker engaged in the financial industry, told the Beijing News Shell financial reporter that her skin is sensitive, and she has encountered the situation of "stepping on the thunder" at home when buying skin care products at the counter before, but due to the high price, she is reluctant to idle, so she has to use it up. "I encounter inappropriate skin care products will have acne, I have to try it first, and then I simply buy a small sample, even a high-end brand like Lai Bernie can buy it to try, two cups of milk tea money can experience the 'happiness of the lady'."
A big sample of about 100 yuan. Photo / Beijing News shell financial reporter Yu Meng'er photo
There are also some consumers who buy small samples with a "cost-effective" mentality. Wu Tong (pseudonym), a consumer who had shopped in HARMAY, told the Beijing News Shell Financial Reporter: "I just went to the small sample, the big brand formal clothing is too expensive, several small samples add up to the capacity of the formal dress, the price is cheaper, I think this is more cost-effective." "The price of small samples is tens of yuan to hundreds of yuan, which is more "close to the people" and the cost of trial and error is lower than that of hundreds of yuan and thousands of yuan of formal clothing. For consumers who want to try new products, only trying at the counter can not judge the efficacy of the product, it is possible to buy home and find that it is not suitable, at this time the sample has become the first choice for "early adopter".
In addition to being favored by young consumers, the small sample economy has also attracted the attention of the capital market. In January, HARMAY announced the completion of nearly $200 million in Series C and Series D funding. According to public information, HARMAY Has completed a total of 4 rounds of financing since december 2019, and the valuation of a single store has exceeded 1 billion yuan after HARMAY has obtained a new round of financing. Some insiders said that the rise of HARMAY has allowed capital to see a new way out of offline beauty retail.
First-hand cosmetics samples, in the second-hand market is also "lively"
The small sample market is filled with more and more young people who pursue "refinement", but "poor" limits the choice of many people. Although "exquisite poor girl" is the self-deprecation of netizens, the demand of consumers to "buy more" and "buy small" has made Xiao Fan quite popular. In addition to factors such as high cost performance and early adopter psychology, the popularity of "small sample economy" is inseparable from the "buy one get N" trend set off during live broadcasts in recent years.
Photo/ Screenshot of Li Jiaqi's live broadcast
On February 23, e-commerce anchor Li Jiaqi sold Guerlain gold diamond foundation liquid with an original price of 750 yuan in the live broadcast room, and the assistant broadcaster said passionately in front of the camera: "Buy 30ml of formal wear and send 30ml sample, which is equivalent to half price." "This practice has stimulated the nerves of many consumers, and the foundation liquid has been snatched up in a short period of time."
Outside the live broadcast room, those "fast- hands" consumers incarnated as "upside-down masters" on the second-hand platform, selling "freshly baked" liquid samples in the form of spelling.
After searching for the keyword "Guerlain Spelling List", the same product appeared in the live broadcast room. Photo/Screenshot of Idle Fish
After the Beijing News shell financial reporter entered the keyword "Guerlain Spelling List" in the idle fish search bar, he quickly saw the same foundation liquid sold in Li Jiaqi's live broadcast room. Some netizens will give away 6 samples at a price of 260 yuan packaged and sold, the platform shows that there are 11 idle fish users "want".
In fact, at last year's Singles' Day shopping carnival, idle fish were equally lively. The data shows that on the double eleventh day, the number of "beauty samples" released on idle fish increased by 201% compared with the previous day. Many people squatted early to "pick up leaks", and when the pre-sale goods were not shipped, there was a lot of information on the platform to change hands and spell single double eleven pre-sale goods. Judging from the information searched, most of them are selling samples and posting order information, and the price is slightly lower than the price of formal clothing. For consumers, selling small samples on the second-hand platform, some people can share the cost, some people can earn the difference, and the linkage between the small sample economy and the second-hand platform has flourished among young people for a time.
The price of the gift, the source of the goods is doubtful
While small samples are popular, they are also concerned by some brands. For example, Kazilan launched a light and sweet lip love box in the Jingdong flagship store, combining small-capacity lipsticks of different colors. L'Oréal Group opened an independent Tmall Small Beauty Box flagship store, which combines its products according to efficacy and consumer needs to form a variety of small sample boxes.
However, not all samples on the market have a clear source of supply. Although the sample has been clearly marked with a price, the product still faces the problem of authenticity.
Givenchy posted a statement on the official Weibo saying that the product did not have a 6g medium sample, calling on consumers to purchase goods through official channels. Photo/ GIVENCHY Givenchy beauty Weibo screenshot
In 2019, when the "small sample economy" first emerged, the "Givenchy powder 6g medium sample" incident pushed the problem of small sample counterfeiting to the cusp of the storm. The cause is that a beauty blogger selling Givenchy powder 6g medium sample was accused of being fake, deeply involved in the storm of public opinion. The incident forced the "main owner" to issue an official statement on Weibo, saying that it had never produced a 6G medium sample. Since then, questions about the source of cosmetic samples have been emerging.
Some insiders said that most of the samples currently circulating in the market come from special counters or duty-free shops, and some professional purchasers buy formal clothes according to normal channels and sell gifted samples. There are also some samples that are sold privately by the sales clerks, and the samples that are not given away are sold to the merchants.
Those well-known offline beauty collection stores are also difficult to explain the source of small samples. In January last year, Only Write, a beauty collection store in Hangzhou's Kerry Centre, was reported by consumers for suspected "smuggling." The local municipal supervision bureau contacted the customs department to assist in the investigation, and nearly 3,000 suspected smuggled cosmetics were seized, most of which were small samples of large-name cosmetics.
The popularity of the "small sample economy" is a reflection of the redefinition of the concept of consumption by young people, and people have gained a short sense of satisfaction while chasing big brands and small samples, and what was once a humble sample now affects the development of the entire cosmetics market. At the same time, shoddy samples circulate in the market, and it is difficult to distinguish between true and false. If the "small sample market" wants to continue to prosper, it is necessary to further standardize the purchase channels and sales channels, and when the quality is guaranteed, the industry can go further.
Beijing News shell financial reporter Yu Meng'er
Edited by Li Zheng Proofreader Guo Li