How Watching Other People Unbox Makeup Kits Became Big Business
The instant gratification of opening a freshly minted product is indescribable. Anyone who has cracked open the box of a new makeup kit and held the brand new, fresh smelling makeup in their hand for the first time would know what it feels like. But if you are not ready to buy your kit just yet, then don’t worry. There are thousands of people for you online, who will tell you exactly what the product looks and feels like. This makeup unboxing trend is sweeping the internet.
As online purchases are escalating, people want to see if they will receive exactly what a brand promises them. Unboxing videos are here to fill the gap.
Unboxing unboxed
There are ‘makeup haul’ videos where people show the contents of their shopping bags. And then there are unboxing videos that go one step further. These videos dissect a product — right from its packaging, design, instruction manual to the product review itself.
What makes them extremely popular is the innate feeling of consumers to experience a product vicariously before buying it. The thrill of watching it being unpacked, and learning about a new product is a very strong pull factor for these videos. Many seasoned unboxing YouTubers or ‘Vloggers’ get close to a million views for each of their videos.
Cashing in big bucks
With so many views, Vloggers often make their living off these videos. The best thing is that once done and uploaded, these videos continue to generate income for them.
But what makes a YouTube sensation? “Write a good script and then practice, practice, practice. This is no different from a good presentation. They may look effortless, but they look that way because the presenter has practised for hours and knows the material perfectly,” says David LaSpina, an unboxing enthusiast.
The internet beauty queens
30-year-old techie Shruti Anand started her own YouTube channel in 2010 just as a weekend hobby. “Personally, I am not much interested in make-up. But I liked it as an art where one could transform oneself and experiment with different looks,” she says.
Her passionate 5 lakh subscribers love her tips and tutorials. Shruti’s Nykaa Makeup haul video has garnered more than 53,000 views and counting. She has now turned it into a full-time business with her husband. Here’s a lowdown on how much she earns.
Courtesy: Economic Times
Diana Saldana, a New York-based fashion and beauty blogger, also understands the pull of makeup unboxing trend. The 25-year-old regularly unboxes Kylie Jenner cosmetics — a huge hit among the 20 somethings.
Her recent unboxing video got over 3 lakh hits and earned her around Rs 50,000.
Unboxing Consultant — It’s a real job
“I placed an order on her (Kylie’s) site for other stuff, then a few days later this collection was sent to me unexpectedly,” says Diana. Well, not very unexpected considering she has over 6 lakh followers on YouTube.
Marketing experts have their job cut out for them — advertise the brand and maximize the profit. Instead of spending on traditional advertising, they seek tie-ups with online influencers such as Diana and Shruti that have a very strong engagement with their viewers and can drive direct sales.
One look at their comment section and you would know that fans take their word very seriously.
Comments on Diana’s channel
One such marketing firm is Octoly that connects beauty brands with the right influencers. And by that, we mean YouTubers who can drive huge traffic to the brand website.
How huge you ask? According to Octoly, its client, online beauty retailer Birchbox, drives 34% of its traffic from just 1 YouTuber, which is even more than their own YouTube channel.
Eleventhgorgeous has close to 2 million subscribers
Marketing to millennials
The beauty industry is heavily dependent on millennial women — 18 to 35-year-olds — for its sales.
This research shows the millennials are quite engaged in beauty products and are also willing to experiment with different products. The time they spend on their beauty routine is also much higher than any other age group.
They are also driven by social content and online influencers when making their decisions. With such high involvement, brands can no longer depend only on traditional ways to reach them. Smart brands are capitalizing on this trend.
Seeing is believing
This generation is steering the wheel of social media. Their decisions from the first thing that they do when they wake up in the morning to the last thing they do before going to bed are influenced by the media and content they consume online. That’s why the beauty products they choose is directly impacted by their online content consumption.
They are also very action-oriented when it comes to taking a decision. They are not merely browsing the net. Young adults want to see how it’s done, share reviews and ask other users for feedback. A quick search on Pinterest on ‘beauty’ will throw up thousands of makeup reviews, DIY tutorials, unboxing videos, photos and shoots.
What does that tell us? They are not only consuming the beauty products but are also generating their own marketing for them — creating a domino effect for the brand. The User Generated Content today is as important to a brand’s credibility as advertising.
It’s a digital world
It’s no secret that social media has flooded our lives. According to Vidooly, video marketing and analytics software, nearly 4 lakh videos are uploaded every month in India on YouTube.
Globally, women are logging in mainly to learn about beauty products. They find beauty YouTubers much more relatable — they are just as young, they share their own experiences with the products and also regularly host free giveaways and discounts.
Research by: Open Slate
Another shift in the tide has been brought by the surge in smartphones. It has made the marketing messages more personals, bite-sized and casual. This accessibility appeals to viewers — who want to experience the brand before they commit to it.
“People really enjoy stories. They want to peek into your life and get to know what it’s like. That’s why Vloggers are so popular, they are just like reality TV stars,” says Rajat Khullar, a Delhi based content marketing expert.
So as the definition of beauty continues to evolve, unboxers will continue to set trends for the buyers. Have you caught on it to yet?
