12A - Figuring Out Buyer Behavior No. 1

Pick a segment. Lower-income, 18-35 year old women with an interest in beauty/haircare.

Find three people who would fit that segment and arrange to interview them.

1. Sarah, 28, graduate student. 
1. How often do you use haircare products?
1. I'll wash my hair with shampoo and conditioner about every other day, I use leave in conditioner after every time I wash my hair, and I use a hair mask about once a week. 
2. How much do you currently spend on haircare?
1. I spend about $30 each on my shampoo and conditioner and around $25 on things like masks and oils individually. 
3. Where do you buy your haircare products?
1. I go to beauty specialty stores like Sephora or Ulta and also buy some stuff online.
4. How do you select your haircare products?
1. I like to read reviews online, get recommendations from friends, but mostly I care about getting the best products available in my price range, so I'll usually do some intense research. 
5. How often do you repurchase your haircare products?
1. Maybe every 2-3 months. 
6. Would you be willing to buy haircare online?
1. I would if it was for something I wanted and couldn't buy in store. I don't usually like paying a lot for shipping, so if it was free or cheap then I'd be more interested.
2. Jasmine, 34, barista. 
1. How often do you use haircare products?
1. About once a week I'll wash my hair. I don't use too many other things after shampoo and conditioner. Sometimes I'll splurge on a deep conditioner if my hair is feeling dry.
2. How much do you currently spend on haircare?
1. $8-10 on my conditioner and shampoo. If I buy any extra products I'll usually spend $12-14.
3. Where do you buy your haircare products?
1. Drugstore mostly but I'll only buy the nice drugstore products. 
4. How do you select your haircare products?
1. I'll usually just pick the nicest looking stuff the drugstore has. Sometimes I'll get recommendations from friends.
5. How often do you repurchase your haircare products?
1. Probably every 2 months.
6. Would you be willing to buy haircare online?
1. I would for sure to save a trip to the store if the shipping times were fast but I wouldn't be willing to pay much more. 
3. Grace, 19, student/nanny.
1. How often do you use haircare products?
1. I wash my hair everyday and use a hair oil. I also use a heat protectant cream when I curl or straighten my hair. 
2. How much do you currently spend on haircare?
1. My mom usually pays for my haircare, but I think its about $15 for my shampoo and $15 for my conditioner and then $20 for my hair oil. I'm not sure how much my heat protectant is but I assume $12-15.
3. Where do you buy your haircare products?
1. I buy some drugstore products but mostly I buy my products at Sephora.
4. How do you select your haircare products?
1. I do a lot of trial and error until I find something I like, I'll sometimes look at online reviews but not always.
5. How often do you repurchase your haircare products?
1. About every 3 months on shampoo/conditioner and around every 6 months on hair oil and heat protectant. 
6. Would you be willing to buy haircare online?
1. Sure! I actually prefer it over making a trip to the store. 

Report the findings of your research. All 3 people were willing to buy products online (what I view as our weakest element of the company) as long as shipping is fast and/or free. The 3 women rebuy their products on average every 3 months and spend an average of $15 on each of their products.

Draw conclusions. If we can offer fast and free/discounted shipping then I believe we can overcome the previous concern of having an online store be a negative. In fact, some women said that it would be a positive because they wouldn't have to go out to purchase their products!