From Shelves to Selfies: Distribution Metrics Driving Experiential Marketing in Beauty

In the beauty industry, a successful product launch is the result of strategic distribution. From

skincare pop-up shops, makeup activations, and influencer product launches, there’s an

intentional path to ensure products are accessed by the correct consumers at the right time.

Distribution metrics can be the success or downfall of an experiential marketing campaign.

Numeric Distribution, All Commodity Volume (ACV), and Product Commodity Volume (PCV)

play a significant role in the lifecycle of beauty events turning into measurable retail wins.

Numeric Distribution: Products in the Right Places

Numeric Distribution is the percentage of stores that carry a given SKU or brand compared to the

universe of stores in the relevant market. Marketers of beauty brands must be aware of how

many of the right beauty retailers and locations have their product available. This is vital for

experiential marketing because if a brand is hosting a product launch event at a flagship like

Sephora, but the brand is only in 40% of Sephora locations, the brand risks creating excitement

that can’t convert in all markets. Fenty Beauty is an example of brand that ensures a wide store

presence during event rollouts so products are accessible at any location. Marketers should make

sure to be strategic about event locations so they are located in high-coverage markets. This will

help to maximize post-event purchases.

All Commodity Volume (ACV): Power of Foot Traffic

ACV measures the total dollar volume of retail sales of stores stocking an SKU or brand versus

total dollar volume sales in all categories. ACV is about the retail reach in terms of overall

shopper traffic. ACV is important to beauty events because a high-ACV location indicates the

store has a high customer flow. If a brand hosts a beauty activation in a high-traffic Ulta storeduring the holiday season it ensures more attention on the products. Also, influencer ROI is

positively impacted if followers live near high-ACV locations because buyers are likely to

convert quickly once they view content. Marketers of beauty brands should focus on hosting

experiential events with stores in top ACV markets to maximize consumer exposure and sales.

Product Category Volume (PCV): Hotspots Based on Category

PCV represents the share of category sales by the stores that stock a brand. PCV narrows in on

store performance in a product category. In the beauty industry this is specific to categories like

skincare, cosmetics, and haircare. If a brand is launching a new luxury skincare product,

marketers should focus on stores with a higher skincare PCV. Those stores are proven to generate

sales as a beauty-buying environment. Stores with high PCV is necessary for prestige or niche

beauty brands that have customers that may only shop in high-performing locations or

specialized stores. Hosting events in high-PCV stores of a specific category is beneficial when

reaching audiences. An example of this would be a skincare brand hosting a masterclass in a spa

location.

In the beauty industry it is vital to connect experiences to the retail opportunity. By utilizing

distribution metrics, marketers have the advantage of strategically targeting consumers through

retailer locations. Awareness of this data is beneficial to brands for product placement and

creating successful marketing opportunities that will be impactful for the brand and it’s

consumers.