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Episode 7 - Predictions for 2024
79 Plays1 year ago
Explore the Future of Beauty: Top 5 Trends for 2024 - In this insightful episode of the 'Business of Style,' host Greg Robins, Executive Director at the BeautyCouncil, delves into the five pivotal trends shaping the beauty industry in 2024.
Discover how sustainability and eco-friendly practices are becoming integral to salon operations, and the growing importance of inclusivity in product ranges. Learn about the rise of digital and remote beauty services, the evolving role of social media influencers in marketing, and the transformative impact of AI and technology on salon management. Join us for a captivating look at the innovations driving the future of beauty and style.
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Transcript
Introduction to Business of Style Podcast
00:00:00
Speaker
Hey podcast listeners, thanks for joining me on this special edition of the Business of Style podcast brought to you by the beauty council.
Key Business Trends in Beauty Industry
00:00:08
Speaker
My name is Greg Robbins and I'm here to review and reflect on five main areas of
00:00:15
Speaker
business development and trends and other predictions that we're coming across at the association. I'm super excited to cover these off. There are some really interesting trends happening and things going on and a couple of surprises. So let's jump right on over into it.
Sustainability in Beauty: Eco-friendly Practices
00:00:38
Speaker
OK, so the first thing we're going to do is we're just going to talk about the top five. There are many other things that we're seeing, but I don't want to get into too many because we could do 10 things that we expect to see in 2024 and even more. But this is really all about.
00:00:54
Speaker
The top five. So let's talk about them. So the number five, we're going to go backwards from five to number one is we're going to see like a real growth in sustainability and eco-friendly practices, not just products, because I think we've all experienced those. We've got them up on our shelves. We see them at the store. We buy them and we use them.
00:01:14
Speaker
But what we're hearing and what we're seeing is a lot of our members are moving towards like a practice of eco friendliness so you know this is this is just due to and growing environmental concerns we're seeing it in you know in the climate we're reading you know we're experiencing hotter summers and warmer weather.
00:01:31
Speaker
winters and I think we're really all beginning to realize that unless we do something soon and we start doing things on our own, we may be in for a little bit of work down the road. This is really putting a greater emphasis on sustainability within our industry.
00:01:47
Speaker
And so what we may see really is more eco-friendly packaging within the salon space. So rather than glitzy bags with plastic and silver ink, we could see a little bit more use of let's say craft or even no bags whatsoever when we're packaging things up for clients. Also, a bigger emphasis just on ethically sourced ingredients. So when people are buying or hearing of salons or when they're buying products,
00:02:10
Speaker
They're actually looking at the ingredients. They are scanning the products. They are doing some checks and balances to see if they align with their own values. And actually about two weeks ago, we had a member drop a fairly well-known brand publicly actually on social media because the product wasn't aligning with, you know, the way that they wanted to go ahead with an eco-friendly mandate moving forward.
00:02:34
Speaker
We're also looking towards things like a zero waste product. What can you get that has zero waste or very little waste, less packaging, less support materials, some sort of capacity to fit into the recycling network. Watch out for those. They're really coming. But in terms of the operations, we had a member actually call us up about
00:02:55
Speaker
three weeks ago and was asking how could they install bike racks and encourage their customers to ride their bike to the salon in the summertime or whenever they wanted to. That was a really interesting conversation. We've also been exploring ways of advising our members of how to integrate the use of transit or walking to get to their business as
Inclusivity and Diversity in Beauty Products
00:03:19
Speaker
opposed to driving. I realize that that's not
00:03:21
Speaker
always possible, but in certain cases in maybe larger urban areas or even just urban areas, it's entirely possible. Anyways, we can see that, so that's number five. Number four, counting down here, we're looking at inclusivity and diversity in product ranges.
00:03:37
Speaker
So there's a real trend towards inclusivity and diversity of course as well. We're gonna see this continue. We're gonna see this from brands. They're gonna start expanding their product ranges to cater to a wider variety of skin tones, hair types, and beauty needs. In terms of that, then we're probably gonna see a range of changes in services. We're seeing in America already some changes coming down the pipe and being institutionalized in schools.
Digital Transformation in Beauty Services
00:04:04
Speaker
for working on textured hair but of course that we also have to think about skin types and other factors that come into play when it comes with different types of cultural sensitivities so I'm really excited about that I think we're gonna see a lot of diversity and inclusivity in 2024 watch out for it jump on the bandwagon don't be left behind.
00:04:24
Speaker
Number three, counting down, there's going to be a real growth of digital and remote beauty services. So what do I mean by that? Like that, that just sounds kind of strange, but this is really what we've boiled it down to. So we'll see the beauty industry expand its digital footprint. And so by digital footprint, I mean things like virtual consultations, online tutorials, and even remote services.
Influencers' Role in Beauty Branding
00:04:48
Speaker
So this could include things like virtual try on apps for makeup, hair color, haircuts,
00:04:53
Speaker
As well as online platforms for beauty consultations and personalized advice so this is something really exciting that we're seeing as technology just gets better as cameras get more sophisticated on phones we're beginning to see the evolution of virtual reality and the integration of
00:05:13
Speaker
tools that are actually really easy to use and give you quick options. It's not the old days of the really bad, like stuck on haircuts or really bad makeup jobs. Watch out for the digital and remote beauty services. The next is a real, what we call, we like to think of as the rise of the social media superstar. Now, what do I mean by that? I know, I know everyone's like, oh, the person with the most likes or the most shares or the most comments.
00:05:40
Speaker
What we're really talking about here is just the social media superstars who are expected to evolve significantly and we're seeing that already with some individuals in the social media space who have really begun to grasp and understand what it is to really do well.
00:05:55
Speaker
through social media to advance their brand. And they're going to become even more crucial in their brand representation and the way that they market their salons and spas. And it's all going to hinge on creating carefully curated content built on a consistent and strategic schedule.
AI and Technology in Salon Operations
00:06:12
Speaker
And these owners, salon owners, renters, individuals in the business, they're going to not only showcase their beauty products and their techniques, but they're going to embody the ethos and their values of their own brand that they represent. And their content is going to become more sophisticated. It'll use high quality production and storytelling techniques. Storytelling is really important.
00:06:36
Speaker
And this is going to engage audiences and anybody in branding or marketing will tell you that that storytelling is critical to what it is that you can communicate to an individual in a short amount of time and leave an impression and have them book a service at your
00:06:53
Speaker
place this trend will emphasize and the importance of your authenticity and personal connection in promoting beauty products and services so this is really going to make the influence of partnerships and integral part of marketing strategies for you and your salon what do i mean by that finding individuals who can have an impact on your clientele and your potential clientele
00:07:14
Speaker
to want to not only book, but also expand and grow and buy more services from you. And an influencer, sometimes we think of influencers are, you know, these people running around, all they do is just take pictures of themselves. An influencer can actually be your own client, or they can be somebody who just means some, you know, has an impact in the community. We would like to explore that a little bit more in some of our communications coming up, so watch out for that, super exciting. So think collabs, think collabs in 2024.
00:07:43
Speaker
Now the number one the number one and many of you who know me understand how how sort of excited we are here and this is just the whole increase personalization through artificial intelligence and technology now in case you missed it back in november of last year so i'm thirteen months ago.
00:08:03
Speaker
chat GPT or open AI, introduce something called a generative text tool that essentially allows you to say to it, hey, write me a social media post offering 50% off on products purchased before the end of this month, and then just push the button. And it will actually create you a well-crafted, properly written, grammatically correct social media post that is based on everything else that's going on around you and in the world.
00:08:33
Speaker
that is chat GPT and if you haven't played around with it your chance is now to dive in it is it'll blow your mind there's a free version available but it's not just the chat GPT there are going to be the use of artificial intelligence is really going to come into play right across your salon from
00:08:52
Speaker
front to back, smarter booking systems, automated attendance, tools that will text your clients back and work out a change in schedule all while you're either working or relaxing or even sleeping. It's going to help manage your inventory. It's going to look at your dollars and cents and give you some recommendations and advice so you won't have to sit there with a calculator. We all know that's no fun to do.
00:09:22
Speaker
and try and figure out like margins and profit margins and percentages and balances. There are going to be tools that are going to come out very soon that will do all that for you and give you recommendations and it could be once a week. Add $1.50 to this service, you should be pricing that conditioner on the shelf over there 50 cents more. And it will tell you what that will benefit, how that will benefit you in the long run.
00:09:48
Speaker
A lot of these tools are going to start working together with one another. And that's just another incredible opportunity to not only just sort of get into the technology and embrace it, but free up your time. Because a lot of your time, if you sort of look at your day and say, well, what do you do? There's a lot of time that can be just sort of spent on drudgery, things like sorting out some paperwork and adding things up and taking inventory or just reviewing schedules.
00:10:15
Speaker
Believe it or not, AI is going to start taking over a lot of that. And if you're not doing it, your competitor is doing it. The salon up the street is doing it. The esthetician around the corner is doing it. So don't be left behind. Learn the magic and the beauty of artificial intelligence
00:10:35
Speaker
Now, play with it. Try it out. Give it a shot. Don't be afraid of it. It is your friend. It will free you. It will open things up for you. Well, not only that, but it'll actually make you look more professional in many ways. If you can write a beautiful website page without any typographical errors and have it in your brand voice,
00:10:55
Speaker
then you are so much further ahead than if you have something with typos in it or just doesn't quite match your overall tone because there are a lot of people who are looking at this stuff and they're very sensitive to it. So, um, the whole world is changing. I would totally recommend chat. GPT is where to start. If you want to try it out, there is a tool on our website where you can actually use an advanced version at no cost to you. If you are a paid member, I really encourage you to check it out.
00:11:22
Speaker
More on AI as time goes on, that is for sure. We're super excited about it here at the association and we're coming across a number of members who have totally embraced it and can't believe how much power it gives them on a day-to-day basis. So there you go folks.
00:11:37
Speaker
Those are the predictions for 2024. Some are familiar, some are new. I hope this has helped you out. We really look forward to working with all of you next year. It's going to be a prosperous
Outlook for 2024 in Beauty Industry
00:11:50
Speaker
year. We believe things are going to get better. We hope that interest rates will drop down and people will feel more comfortable about coming to your business and investing in their beauty under your care. Thanks so much, everybody. Stick around. We got lots to come in the new year.