We attended the CEW hosted event with Creighton Kiper, Walmart’s VP of Beauty, as the keynote, and wanted to share a our key findings that may be useful for our friends at beauty retailers and brands (and beyond).  

From a content perspective, the common themes echoed many we’re all hearing:

  • Democratization of Beauty
  • Inclusivity 
  • Personalization

A few interesting nuggets included:

  • Beauty is a strategic focus for Walmart, so much so it's in their Top 5 priority categories.
  • Walmart has seen an influx of consumers with household income greater than $100k and offer brands at all ends of the price spectrum to appeal to all income levels. 
    • SpaceNK was referenced at the upper tier – as well as the opportunity to “grow prestige” at Walmart
    • Also referenced was a clean beauty line of products all priced under $10 to ensure that “clean beauty is accessible to all.”
  • Brick & Mortar (B&M) will focus on layout, location and labor – we should expect to see more Beauty Shops inside Walmart's.
  • Ecommerce is growing fast, outpacing B&M, and a key focus for the business given the marketplace and breadth of products they sell online.
  • Data, as you’d expect, is everything – and they share it with vendors to ensure products match consumer preferences/trends. 
  • They see “beauty tech” as essential for success in the future and mentioned that the risk is high if you get it wrong in the beauty category – it’s a hit to a customer’s wallet AND confidence; it's interesting that the emotional end state is top of mind.

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