Instagram is known as one of the biggest social spaces for beauty-lovers in the world, but how does their behaviour on the platform reflect their thoughts and attitudes towards beauty?
Cosmetics Business has spoken with Instagram’s head of brand development for EMEA, Amy Cole, to find out what the beauty behaviour patterns of Germany, France, and the UK’s users are.
For the first time, these three countries have had their behaviour on Instagram examined thanks to their status as the biggest beauty spenders in Europe. As Cole explains: “More than a third of beauty shoppers (and more than half of millennials) agree that their mobile device is quickly becoming their most important shopping tool.
“Mobiles and tablets unlock a world of tailored information that beauty shoppers crave, from comparing prices and discovering products to accessing reviews and searching for product information.
“The importance of smartphones and tablets in the beauty sector also comes through in Mintel research, which found the rise of the 'selfie' is leading to developments in augmented reality apps, attachable smartphone lights, and even an iPhone case with a refillable make-up palette.”
Specifically, the biggest makeup trend in Germany was found to be functional beauty; as German women are more likely to post about beauty in the morning than those in Britain and France - 46 per cent of beauty posts in Germany are posted before lunchtime. German beauty lovers are also more likely to use more holistic hashtags (i.e. wellness, natural, aloe vera).
In France, women enjoy experiential shopping and the natural cosmetics look. Also, more than three-quarters of French women agree: “I always look for a natural look when buying beauty products”.
On Instagram, French women who use the hashtag #beauty are 4.5x more likely to mention the hashtag #skincare and 3.2x more likely to mention hashtags related to skin, compared to all women on Instagram.
Finally, Brits are more likely to use the hashtags #beautyblogger and #bbloggers; and 25 per cent of British beauty consumers say they have found a product online.
Ultimately, Cole spills that across all three countries there is a connect with the huge rise in online shopping and “swipe up to buy” functions. On average, 35 per cent of women say they use social media more often for shopping and researching online than they did a year ago.