eCommerce | May 29, 2020
The Covid Effect: Skincare’s Boom
Whilst the current situation has created mass upheaval to our daily lives, for some industries the disruption has been a positive one. We’ve analysed search trends within the Skincare industry to uncover how Lockdown has brought about a skincare boom.
Skin Conditions Search Trends
Whether it’s because we’re being confined to an indoor space for longer than we’re used to which is adversely affecting our skin, or perhaps because video conferencing means we’re looking at ourselves more than ever before, search trends show that we’re more interested in our skin.
Whilst many skincare terms have shown a sustained growth of interest, the current situation has meant that many search terms are seeing their highest ever search volumes. Using Google Trends and the SEO Monitor COVID19 Trends tool, we’ve analysed a range of keyword themes in the skincare industry.
Dry Skin
The 5 year Google Trends graph below shows that the search term ‘Dry Skin’ usually peaks every year around February/March time. However April this year has been the most popular the term has ever been.
Red Skin
Whilst there is less consistent seasonality to the search term ‘Red Skin’ when compared to ‘Dry Skin’ there are clear spikes in interest around this (April/May) time of year anyway. However, interest is at its highest ever.
Oily Skin
Whilst not at the same volume as ‘Dry Skin’, ‘Oily Skin’ has seen a huge 86% YoY increase in searches.
Acne
Despite Acne showing no clear seasonal trends, the 83% growth in the search term is a considerable increase caused by the lockdown.
Blackheads
The 5 year search trend for ‘Blackheads’ shows only small growth, but has jumped up by 22% last month.
Skincare Products Search Trends
The growing interest in skin concerns is matched by a growth in searches for products to alleviate them.
The rate of the growth in these terms is considerable and in some cases, exceeds the rate of growth of the skin condition that the product is associated with. For example, the rate of growth for Moisturiser was 122% and for Face Cream, a massive 174% with the search volume for Dry Skin growing 83%.
So does this mean that we’ll be paying more attention to our skin after the lock down?
General Interest in Skincare since Lockdown
Skin Care Routine
Nothing demonstrates the boom in interest in skincare more than the search term ‘Skin Care Routine’ which shows an astonishing 5x growth YoY.
Interestingly, whilst Google trends shows that some terms may have hit their peak in the mid/end of April, the ‘skin routine’ keyword has shown that interest has grown further into the lockdown.
Skin Care For Men
Whilst men’s cosmetics terms have been growing over time, the current situation hasn’t made the ‘Skin Care For Men’ search term more popular than its seasonal peak at Christmas time. However, the YoY difference shows 4x growth in the search term for this period.
Niacinamide
This search term is for ‘Niacinamide’, a specific type of vitamin that a number of creams and serums have as a key ingredient.
4x YoY growth shows a huge increase into the ingredients of products, perhaps indicating that the skin care consumer is taking a much more research focussed approach to choosing products for particular skin conditions.
Search Trends of Skincare Brands
The vast majority of brands have seen increases in search volume, with some seeing ‘unprecedented’ YoY growth.
Whilst most brands are benefitting from considerable growth, the nearly 400% growth for ‘The Ordinary’ stands out amongst the top searched for skin care brands.
There are likely to be a number of reasons for this, but it certainly shows the importance of brand building and brand advertising. The Ordinary have won a multitude of awards which are clearly displayed on their site and with a low price point, they have become incredibly attractive to many people who are perhaps exploring skincare in a way they never did before.
What Does This Mean For Marketers?
It’s clear that the skin care industry is going through a boom and it’s essential for marketers to act now whilst there is substantially higher than normal search volume and high purchase intent.
Luckily, we’ve already written an article that details how eCommerce habits have changed under lockdown, and offered some advice which certainly is relevant here. In a nutshell:
- Ensure that you’re using automated bidding on PPC campaigns to make sure that your ads are adapting to ever changing browsing habits.
- Ensure that your shopping feed is set up correctly – there are many instances of products appearing in shopping ads that are out of stock or not available in certain areas.
- Update your body copy and ad copy to reflect what is in stock or available for quick delivery, as this is a key concern for people when shopping.
- Social media browsing is up and costs for ads are down, so now is a great time to drive further traffic to your website and engage with users.
Do you work in the skincare industry?
We’ve created a comprehensive guide into the skincare industry covering the consumer, the search landscape and have also included some helpful SEO tips that can help you rank for your target keywords. If you’d like this guide then please get in touch at info@libertymarketing.co.uk