Why are us UK beauty addicts given a short deal compared to our US cousins?
For years, those of us in the UK have been getting a bit of a bad deal on our cosmetics compared to our US counterparts. The latest must-have Bobbi Brown palette, Chrome, is $75 in the US, and £59 in the UK. Given today's exchange rate, the palette in the US is the equivalent of £46 - that's a massive £13 difference. Even adding on the US sales tax, the product is still cheaper in the US. Why is this? Even if the products are manufactured in the US and have to be shipped over to the UK, such a huge mark up per unit seems excessive.
Similarly, many beauty brands offer "friends and family" sales online, offering a 20% - 30% discount. Yet, these promotions never make it to the UK - even for companies with a UK ecommerce website, such as MAC and Bobbi Brown.
This evening, I noticed a tweet by Zoya_NailPolish for a new promotion: if they reach 10,000 followers on Twitter, a promo code good for 3 free lip glosses will be distributed online. But it's only available in the continental US, despite the fact that Twitter is global and the followers they look to recruit are all over the world. This makes me angry on so many levels; just because I don't live in the US does not mean that my hard earned cash is worth any less. A loyal consumer is a loyal consumer, and a positive asset to any beauty company, whichever country they live in, and incentives should reflect this.
US brands - if your products are available globally - stop treating non US consumers like second class citizens.
For years, those of us in the UK have been getting a bit of a bad deal on our cosmetics compared to our US counterparts. The latest must-have Bobbi Brown palette, Chrome, is $75 in the US, and £59 in the UK. Given today's exchange rate, the palette in the US is the equivalent of £46 - that's a massive £13 difference. Even adding on the US sales tax, the product is still cheaper in the US. Why is this? Even if the products are manufactured in the US and have to be shipped over to the UK, such a huge mark up per unit seems excessive.
Similarly, many beauty brands offer "friends and family" sales online, offering a 20% - 30% discount. Yet, these promotions never make it to the UK - even for companies with a UK ecommerce website, such as MAC and Bobbi Brown.
This evening, I noticed a tweet by Zoya_NailPolish for a new promotion: if they reach 10,000 followers on Twitter, a promo code good for 3 free lip glosses will be distributed online. But it's only available in the continental US, despite the fact that Twitter is global and the followers they look to recruit are all over the world. This makes me angry on so many levels; just because I don't live in the US does not mean that my hard earned cash is worth any less. A loyal consumer is a loyal consumer, and a positive asset to any beauty company, whichever country they live in, and incentives should reflect this.
US brands - if your products are available globally - stop treating non US consumers like second class citizens.
Posts
0 comments:
Post a comment on: Not Available Outside The US