"With neuroeconomics, the goal is to find out how the brain responds to stimuli as we develop strategies for growth for large conglomerates and smaller companies within the beauty space. To do this, brain scanning tools have been used to study people&rsquo;s initial subconscious reactions so that the data to develop future growth strategies can be free from bias.&rdquo; &ndash; Portia Antonia Alexis

Portia Antonia Alexis is a consumer expert and neuroeconomist who is pioneering neuroscience in the beauty space. In this article, she details the reasons behind the explosive growth of the beauty industry in recent years while also giving her expert opinion on why neuroscience will soon be used to propel the industry even further.
Now, the beauty industry has been a mainstay in cultures around the world since antiquity. Back in 10,000 BCE, the Ancient Egyptians had a market for essential oils and perfumes to smell their best, and from Ancient China, Greece, and Rome, we have historical research on beauty rituals. Yet, while the beauty industry&rsquo;s core products of makeup, jewellery, and perfume have not changed, what has changed a lot is their delivery to the public.
&ldquo;We are currently experiencing a beauty revolution.&rdquo; says Portia Antonia Alexis &ldquo;While the core products of the beauty industry are timeless, what has changed a lot is how consumers purchase them. In the past, storefronts were the only way to pick up your favourite beauty supplies; however, you can now have a virtually identical experience online thanks to the fact that many companies are starting to integrate A.I. into their websites.&rdquo;
When you look at the data, it is clear that this beauty revolution didn&rsquo;t come out of nowhere. In fact, according to many observers, the pandemic is what sparked widespread A.I. integration. After all, the beginning of the pandemic was absolutely devastating to the beauty industry. However, these companies began to innovate their once-boring online shops to win back their revenues.
&ldquo;The big issue with online shopping pre-pandemic was that it was a guessing game; sure, you could see what makeup looked like on a model, but you couldn&rsquo;t try anything on like you could in a store. However, when online shopping became the only mode of shopping for months on end, the beauty industry began to innovate.
One prominent example that comes to mind is Lanc&ocirc;me. They were among the first to introduce virtual &ldquo;try-ons,&rdquo; where their beauty products could be applied to your face to see whether or not you wanted to purchase them. Another major innovation came from L&rsquo;Or&eacute;al. They&rsquo;ve created a new system known as Color &amp; Co, where, after a three-question survey about a shopper&rsquo;s hair needs, they can hop on a 10-minute video chat with a trained hair colourist where they receive a personalised hair-dye kit that is not only manufactured and bottled on demand but that is also meant to be applied at home.&rdquo;
By integrating virtual reality into their online shopping experiences, significant players in the beauty industry have been able to adapt. However, simply amplifying the online shopping experience probably isn&rsquo;t enough. We now have an upcoming group of Gen Z-ers who have grown up around technology for their entire lives, and when compared to their parents and grandparents, the amount of time they spend on social media is far more significant.
Consequently, these younger consumers are far different from those of the past. More specifically, they tend to look to social media for beauty advice, which has created a rise in beauty influencers. Generally speaking, beauty influencers are young women who have amassed a following by providing an assortment of cosmetics reviews and beauty tips, with many also posting fitness and lifestyle content. However, no matter who the influencer is, they tend to have a young audience. If beauty companies are hoping to compete, they now have little choice but to pay influencers to use their products so that they can be marketed to these younger consumers.
&ldquo;When we look at younger consumers, we find that beauty and wellness are often seen as two closely tied concepts. As a result, the fact that beauty influencers tend to blend the line between the two with their wellness-based beauty content has caused these consumers to prefer more health-conscious products than their parents or grandparents. They are far more likely than other generations to care about the source or quality of ingredients in their cosmetics.
However, neurologically, their reaction to advertising is quite different from that of older generations. Gen Z stands apart because about half receive all their news from YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok. Since these platforms are filled with advertisements, Gen Z has become very good at distinguishing good advertising from bad. As a result, they are far less likely to fall prey to pushy advertising schemes or insincere corporate gestures. They are far more likely to be critical of shady corporate practices and weak corporate responsibility programs.
This means that for beauty companies to attract younger consumers, they have to appeal to different neurological triggers than they have to with older generations. Instead of using catchy slogans and dumping tons of money into repetitive advertising, creating more personable corporate branding is everything. Transparency is now king, as newer generations want to know the story behind a brand, whether or not a brand uses natural materials, whether or not said raw materials are ethically sourced, and what steps are taken to ensure that the workers who make the products are treated fairly. Beauty companies also have to appeal to the desire of younger generations to be socially responsible themselves being socially responsible, and nowadays, investing in a charitable campaign can often lead to far better publicity and brand recognition than renting out a slew of billboards. In a sense, to stand out to Gen Z, corporations have to become anti-corporate.&rdquo;
With all of this in mind, People has helped companies quickly pass this learning curve regarding their marketing. As a consultant who specialises in neuroscientific research, her passion is to implement consumer-specific neurological triggers into marketing campaigns so that they appeal to the correct target audience. With this in mind, she thinks that neuroeconomic analysis is one of the best ways for corporations to keep up with the evolving minds of Gen Z consumers.
&ldquo;Implementing neuroscience into marketing is useful because, unlike conventional marketing research, which primarily collects consumer survey results and balance sheets, neuroscientific research measures the subconscious. More specifically, the tools of our trade allow us to see how a person subconsciously reacts to a piece of advertising and whether or not this reaction is positive enough to lead to a sale.&rdquo;
The neuroeconomic space has been growing for quite a while. First championed by Dr. Paul Glimcher in the late 1990s, neuroscientists who subscribe to neuroeconomic analysis use various tools to gather unbiased consumer responses that cannot be consciously altered. While plenty of tools are in the trade, fMRIs and EEGs are two of the most effective.
&ldquo;An fMRI works by analysing blood flow in the brain. The idea behind this is that increased blood flow coincides with increased neural activity, as the data taken from this activity can be deduced to determine a consumer&rsquo;s emotional responses, level of engagement, and ability to recall brand-centric information. While these give accurate information, they can only be used in a lab setting, limiting their real-world application.
On the other hand, an EEG works by analysing neurons in the brain and recording electrical signals. These signals help determine a consumer&rsquo;s level of engagement and ability to recall information. Since EEGs can be used in a lab or the real world, they are more multi-purposed than fMRIs.&rdquo;
No matter what the tool is, it&rsquo;s clear that these machines give us more nuanced data than traditional research methods would. If beauty companies hope to increase revenues, knowing how consumers respond to their branding and advertising gives them a competitive edge. In the long term, this will likely create an entirely new wave of advertising that aggregates the neurological responses of particular target audiences to deliver niche-based results that have never been seen in the advertising space.
However, on the individual level, facial coding devices may allow large beauty companies to get a far greater sample size. When we talked to Portia on the potential of these machines, she recounted that &ldquo;in a report by the research firm Gartner, they predicted 10 per cent of all personal devices will have facial coding technology.&nbsp; They also reported that by 2024, half of all online advertisements will be targeted to you based on your current emotions. While this prediction is yet to come true, what is certain is that phone companies are starting to implement hardware and software into their devices that can read your facial expressions and then use them to generate appropriate advertising. This type of neurological data collection will be huge to the beauty industry, as beauty companies will be able to advertise to you specifically when said advertising will be most effective.&rdquo;
With all of this in mind, there is no doubt that neuroeconomic analysis will be at the forefront of every significant beauty company&rsquo;s marketing, branding, and corporate outreach soon. As long as neuroeconomists keep up the excellent work, we may quickly have algorithms that provide us with advertising for precisely what we need and want and incentivise corporations to act responsibly and make fundamental changes to their ingredients and manufacturing processes. That kind of future is a win-win for everyone.
&nbsp;Follow Portia Antonia at&nbsp;<a href="http://twitter.com/PortiaAntonia" target="_blank" rel="noopener">twitter.com/PortiaAntonia</a>
&nbsp;

Economist Portia Antonia Alexis on the Future of Neuroeconomics in Beauty

#4 L'Officiel Hommes Austria

#21 - L'Officiel  Spring 2024

#20 - L'Officiel  Winter 2023

L'Officiel Austria Hommes 3#

#19 - L'Officiel Autumn 2023 

#18 - L'Officiel  Summer 2023

L'Officiel Hommes #2

#17 - Spring 2023

#16 - Winter 2023

#15 Summer

Economist Portia Antonia Alexis on the Future of Neuroeconomics in Beauty

Recommended posts for you

Beauty

Beautiful Hands: How To Make Cracked Nails And Dry Hands A Thing Of The Past

Fashion

10 Swimwear Trends to Dive Into

Business & Tech

Spark your way to success! Start creating today!

Business & Tech

Inside the World of PhDr. JUDr. Dominik Krajný, PhD: Law, Business, and Traveling

News & Events

L'Officiel Hommes Austria Presents The "Art Issue"

Astrology

Most Famous Quotes from Literary Worlds are Guiding Your May

Nightlife & Events

Art Redefined: PMT Art Exhibition rocks Hamburg

Beauty

Continuing the Scent Saga: Arturo Obegero & PIGMENTARIUM Reunite for AZABACHE CHAPTER 2