Teenage beauty consumers dubbed ‘generation AVID’

Mintel has developed an acronym to identify the new generation of beauty consumers aged 16-20, who have grown up with the influence of beauty entrepreneurs such as Kylie Jenner and Zoella.

The new acronym used to identify such consumers is ‘AVID’: Approaching adulthood, video drive, influencer aware and digital natives. Mintel has explained the acronym as follows…

• Approaching adulthood: This group is gaining independence, whether by entering the workforce or choosing higher education. They now have money and responsibility to make their own decisions.
• Video driven: Their beauty education is ongoing and never ending. They grew up with video tutorials on every kind of beauty look, which has encouraged them to be more creative and experimental.
• Influencer aware: While previous generations grew up with magazine and celebrities for beauty inspiration, along with social media, these pop culture elements are now combined with influencers – aspirational but accessible figures that connect with consumers on a variety of platforms.
• Digital natives: They are naturally ‘internet smart’ – cautious over data sharing, aware of hacks and concerned about how brands are tracking them. This affects what they share online: mistakenly associated with the ‘selfie generation’, they are actually less likely than their millennial counterparts to pose pictures online.

Charlotte Libby, global beauty analyst at Mintel, says, “Technology has a strong impact on AVID’s lifestyles. Besides traditional teenage-related struggles, this generation is facing a new set of negatives that the beauty industry do well to address. A distorted image of beauty, thanks to constant use of photo filters, has been exacerbated by the dominance of social media.

“AVID consumers are, therefore, placing greater importance on the fun aspects of beauty, not only the appearance-altering ones, and are drawn to brands that offer creative, entertaining and multi-sensory products and retail experiences.”

www.mintel.com