SURVEY ANALYSIS:MARY KAY

COSMETICS

Mary Mandeville, Emily Parks and Charlene Thomas

RESPONDENT PROFILE

Average respondent was 21-years-old, followed by 25-year-olds

61.3% were from Oklahoma

Majority were full-time students at 61.3%

87.5% White, Non-Hispanic

RESPONDENT PROFILE

Makeup usage:

Daily- I almost never go without makeup 39.6%4 to 6 days per week 39.6%1 to 3 days per week 17.7%

Never- I rarely wear makeup 3.1%

OTHERS…

Top three other brands: Covergirl, Benefit and Urban Decay

Others included: ULTA, Bare Minerals, Lancome, Estee Lauder, KIKO, Tarte, Laura Mercier, Trish McEvoy, ELF, Yes to Carrots, Tom Ford and YSL

RESPONDENT PROFILE

A series of statements was used to measure her Interest and Pleasure in cosmetics and Sign, Risk Importance and Probability of Error when making cosmetic choices.

RESPONDENT PROFILE

Interest:

Overall, respondents had a high level of interest in cosmetics

I really enjoy buying cosmetics: strongly agree 41.9%

What cosmetics I buy is extremely important to me: agree 40.7%

I am totally uninterested in cosmetics: strongly disagree 42.1%, disagree 37.6%

I am interested in cosmetics: agree 37.2%

RESPONDENT PROFILE

Pleasure:

Whenever I buy cosmetics, it is like giving myself a present: strongly agree 43%

To me, cosmetics are pleasurable: agree 51.2%

RESPONDENT PROFILE

Sign:

I can tell a lot about a person from the cosmetics she buys: neutral 35.3%, agree 28.2%, disagree 23.5%

The cosmetics a person buy reflects who she is: disagree 36%, neutral 29%

RESPONDENT PROFILE

Risk Importance:

It is very irritating to buy cosmetics that are not right: strongly agree 48.8%, agree 40.7%

It does not matter too much if I make a mistake when buying cosmetics: disagree 60.5%

When I buy cosmetics, I can never be exactly sure if the choice was right: disagree 36%, neutral/agree 26.7%

RESPONDENT PROFILE

Probability of Error:

When I buy cosmetics, I can never be quite certain about my choice: agree 44.2%

When I am in front of the cosmetics section, I always feel unsure about which to choose: agree 45.3%

I am annoyed with myself if it turns out I made the wrong choice when buying cosmetics: agree 43.5%

Choosing cosmetics is quite hard: agree 40.7%

RESPONDENT PROFILE

Overall, the respondent has a high interest in makeup and finds cosmetics pleasurable. She does not necessarily use cosmetics to project her self-image. Her high risk importance and high probability of error show she is unconfident in her cosmetic choices, yet she seeks to gain more knowledge about cosmetics.

MARY KAY & DIRECT SELLING

Down-to-earth and honest

Majority only purchase cosmetics from retail stores: 57.6%

60% have considered buying cosmetics through direct selling; however, when asked if she would/has sold cosmetics directly 87.1% said no

Have you ever used Mary Kay? Yes 37.3%, No 62.7%

MARY KAY & DIRECT SELLING

Would you ever consider buying cosmetics through direct selling?

72.2% of respondents who strongly agreed to enjoying buying cosmetics said YES.

Also respondents who strongly agreed and agreed to enjoying buying cosmetics still had a high risk importance and probability of error.

MARY KAY & DIRECT SELLING

Opinions of the brand: no opinion because of brand ignorance, nice quality, targeted toward older ladies, expensive

“I feel like they just aren’t up to date on current trends and have too many products. You can just go through their catalog for forever and never know what to get.” (strongly agreed to I really enjoy buying cosmetics.)

“Good brand but too expensive and a little overrated.” (agreed to I really enjoy buying cosmetics.)

SHORTCOMINGS

Very little diversity; most of the respondents were from Oklahoma, White and full-time students

Not all respondents finished the survey; skipped questions