With consumers continuing to focus on brands that provide both personalized experiences and community-centric activations and launches, Jamie Elden, chief revenue officer of Listrak, shared how tailored communications enhance brand connectivity to its consumers.
Citing insights from the newly released Listrak 2025 Beauty and Fashion Benchmark report at the Beauty CEO Summit, he noted that customer acquisition is paramount.
Many brands’ initial conclusion when receiving customer information is to send products in an email twice a week, and if that doesn’t work, send it four times a week. But Elden said the most effective marketing tools are to market to the individual and their needs.
Through its artificial intelligence technology, Listrak can track and personalize its marketing through SMS or emails with products from brands the consumer recently browsed but didn’t purchase.
Notably, SMS has seen 70 percent revenue growth year-over-year. Another growth category in North America, that is already popular in Europe and Asia, is RCS — which is enhanced SMS with click to buy and boasts two-way communication.
“We’ve seen this channel in five years go from 70 percent email and 30 percent SMS to 60 percent SMS and 40 percent email,” Elden said. “SMS has become a key channel to drive growth in this sector.” The main drivers of this growth can be attributed to the Gen Z and Millennials cohorts.
Listrak’s data found that brands saw an 80 percent acquisition growth rate year-over-year — with Elden stating that more than ever, people are using social media as a platform for research and discovery and willingly offering data for personalized communication with brands on their websites.
One major finding from the report is that makeup sales rebounded after the COVID-19 pandemic over the past two years. Another finding is that skin care continues to dominate sales — with Gen Z driving 40 percent of new sales. And most notably, Gen Alpha is growing momentum for 2025 with 13-year-olds and younger spending on average $140 a month.
“Fragrance is booming with young men and boys who are spending $200, $300 or even $400 on luxury brands,” said Elden, who recalled a recent trip to Selfridges with his 12-year-old son, where they bought Paco Rabanne’s Phantom cologne in a robot bottle. “I remember it from the ’90s — and now that’s hot again,” he said. “My son saw it on TikTok and we came back with lots of perfume from Europe.”
With growth continuing to be dictated by Gen Z, Gen Alpha, social media and new marketplaces, TikTok Live has continued to be a game changer. Dubbed by Elden as the “QVC for teens,” he said that people are setting alarms and logging on for TikTok Live to shop.
“We’ve recently integrated with TikTok Shop to work with our brands on TikTok Shop,” Elden continued. “It’s phenomenal the amount of revenue being generated from TikTok Shop in this sector.”
With beauty shoppers browsing more than ever, fresh and engaging content is more in demand. With consumers researching skin care, skin care health, popular products and sustainability, Elden stressed the importance of how-to content blogs and social content to educate and inform.
“It’s no longer just about the product,” he said. “They want to know about your product and who you are as a brand. What do you stand for? Are you a good citizen?”
