Shiseido Japan are investing in beauty salons for children, opening a store for their youngest consumers this month in Hyogo followed by another in Tokyo in October.
Shiseido is investing in getting consumers interested in cosmetics at an early age through the launch of beauty salon stores for children in Japan this summer. The company's beauticians will offer an in-store make-up camp, as well as skincare and nail care lessons. This is not the first time the company has turned their attention towards their youngest consumers, having already run interactive tutorials for children on their website. According to Catherine O'Connor, senior analyst at Canadean, "Shiseido's move illustrates that while aging populations across the globe are causing many brands to shift their focus to the needs of older consumers, younger demographics also present opportunities."
Kids consume one in every six cosmetics products
Shiseido's initiative targets a growing global consumer-base of children, where even the youngest consumers are proving increasingly interested in cosmetics products. Kids aged nine and under are responsible for 9.5% of makeup and skincare consumption globally. Not far behind are ten to fifteen year olds who are responsible for 7.1%. Combined, their consumption was worth over US $13.8 billion globally in 2013 and this figure is set to hit $18.1 billion by 2018. O'Connor says: "To encourage parents to buy products for their children, brands need to present offerings that are specifically formulated for the young. In our survey parents reported that finding age-appropriate products was key when buying cosmetics products for their kids, driving over a third of the overall consumption." O'Connor adds: "Parents also said that their kids favour products that offer individuality, making personalised products a way through which brands can meet the needs of the young."
However, brands will have to be careful with the ways in which they target children: "Cosmetic products for youngsters must be positioned around concepts such as having fun, teaching children to take care of their skin and allowing them to express their individuality." O'Connor continues: "Marketers must be careful not to promote their ranges in ways that could encourage self-image issues among the young or teach them that physical beauty is a goal they must aspire to."
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