How does Generation Alpha (children born after 2010, now under the age of 16, ed.) discover beauty? This is the question addressed by the “Smart Beauty” report published by NIQ and Ulta Beauty. The finding is clear: this cohort combines artificial intelligence, personalisation and physical stores into a single journey.
Generation Alpha discovers beauty products online, but makes their purchases in the real world.
78 per cent of these consumers discover beauty products through at least one online source. However, 77 per cent of them visit a shop and seek advice from family and friends.
Parents remain the primary source of information (55%), ahead of friends (52%) and social media (51%).
The shop continues to play a central role: the majority of Generation Alpha prefer to buy their beauty products in-store, particularly perfume (73%) and make-up (70%).
Personalisation is becoming the norm
73% of Generation Alpha consumers already use personalisation tools for their beauty purchases: tailored recommendations (35%), AI-driven search results (31%) and content suggestions based on their interests (29%).
Contrary to expectations, AI is not driving customers away from shops. Users of this technology are more likely than others to visit a shop to try out products.
Their main motivations are as follows:
• Discovering new products (53%)
• Trying out a specific product (45%)
• Learning how to use the products (42%)
Parents want reassurance
98 per cent of parents say they play an active role in their children’s beauty product purchases.
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