Exploring social media influences on colour cosmetics purchase decisions for females aged 45+.

Abstract

“You wouldn’t have thought that’s make-up, they’ve clearly had work done on their face.” The purpose of this paper is to explore the effects of social media on colour cosmetic purchase decisions of the over 45 females. This group are the fastest growing demographic using social media (Safko, 2012), and are the largest consumer group for that industry (Mintel, 2016). The colour cosmetics industry is evolving at a phenomenal rate. Since the UK economy has entered recovery, retail value sales are currently worth £1.84bn and predicted to reach £2.5bn in 2021 (Mintel, 2017). Kantar (2014) revealed that out of 26,853 surveyed, 87% of women agreed they take great pleasure in looking after their appearance; and this was more prevalent with the older demographic. Yet, previous academic research has only investigated the uses, implications and purchase decisions of social media influences on a younger audience, (18-25 year olds) with little or no research being carried out on the older demographic. A mixed methods approach has been adopted, using online questionnaires and focus groups. The research explores the colour cosmetic habits of the over 45 females, as well as the significance of brands functional and emotional values, then onto the influence social media has on the colour cosmetic purchase decisions. The findings reveal that consumers are not directly influenced by social media, but indirectly influenced, through third party social media users such as children and grandchildren. Participants expressed strong beliefs that they make their own decisions and are not influenced by social media, with trust being the main concern. Due to this lack of trust, it appears that consumers display enhanced brand loyalty with colour cosmetic brands.