best-sellers. Perhaps bring in new categories now that customers are comfortable shopping at mass. Stay social. Beauty Barrage is pivoting to social selling by having our 300-plus field team post/ livestream and story tell on their social platforms, and leading followers to e-com. We created sanitation protocols for retailers and our staff. Mass beauty might recover faster than prestige because they did not experience the major shutdown prestige has, plus customers will be looking to continue to save. — Sonia Summers, founder and CEO, Beauty Barrage “People need to do something with that mop of hair on top of their head.” We have seen a huge uptick in home hair cutting and beard grooming over these past several weeks. This should not come as a surprise. With barbershops and beauty salons closed, people need to do something to maintain that mop of hair on top of their head. We have seen our website explode and Internet search soar on topics of home hair cutting and DIY. Someone sent me the following that they got off of LinkedIn: “Thought you might have interest in Doug McMillon’s post on LinkedIn today: “Here’s a look at how buying patterns have shifted in the last few weeks: Week 1: Hand sanitizers, soaps and disinfectants Week 2: Toilet paper Weeks 3 and 4: Spiral hams and baking yeast Week 5: Hair clippers and hair dye on the rise To be on the radar of the CEO of the world’s largest retailer is certainly a new place for our category. We have seen household penetration on our products jump from around 48% to almost 60%, and even after the barbers and salons reopen, I imagine there will be many households where the DIY trend will continue. I expect this category growth to abate to some degree, but still level off at a rate higher than before we entered this time as many households will have found that what they once thought was beyond their capability is now a part of their new reality.
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Add to this the fact that we may be heading towards a recession and the moneysaving aspect of home hair cutting makes our products even more attractive. In 2008, when we last hit a recession, the hair clipper category grew as families looked for ways to save money. As we rebuild our economy again, I expect Wahl hair clippers will play a role in saving money and time, while making our country look good one haircut at a time. — Bruce Kramer, senior vice president of North America consumer division, Wahl Clipper “Brick-and-mortar retailers will have to take extra steps to enhance the in-store consumer experience.” Retailers will need to make sure their products are in stock and ready, due to the anticipation of much heightened demand. They’ll also need to reexamine how they’re stocking and restocking their shelves to ensure that essential products are prominently displayed, so that consumers can easily and quickly find what they need. These past few weeks have seen a higher degree of acceptance in ordering products online, so brick-andmortar retailers will have to take extra steps to enhance the in-store consumer experience to once again draw people in, while facilitating a convenient safe and hassle-free shopping process that builds consumer trust. Retailers will also need to build stronger, bolder, more compelling stories around the beauty products that are relevant. Their messages will need to be more meaningful and focus on products that offer the most value and benefits, and differentiate them from the immediate influx of beauty brands fighting for the attention of the same consumers. As the pandemic has shifted perceptions, values and spending habits, and people’s concern with less disposable income, beauty brands and retailers will need to speak to consumers in more authentic and innovative ways. The need
to educate consumers on brand promises is more important than ever and can be led more prominently with unique value propositions. Being an essentials provider, we have been laser focused on getting hand sanitizers, liquid soaps and other personal cleansing products onto the shelves of our partnered retailers. It’s all hands on deck for us right now, as we work around the clock to support our trusted retail partners by shipping millions of essential personal care products. The challenge is being able to keep pace with such an immediate high demand and to ensure we’re stocked and ready for future consumer needs. Through creative problemsolving, we are currently building out and diversifying our supply chain of raw
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