With the Australian book industry in serious trouble and online competition increasing for retailers, the pressure is now building for the beauty industry.
The release of the Australian Institute’s “Rise and Rise of Online Retail” report highlights that on average, beauty products are marked up by as much as 97 percent.
This has therefore caused consumers to turn to overseas online avenues in an attempt to counteract what is perceived as rip-off pricing.
Companies such as USA Shopping Affair are assisting consumers by facilitating shopping from online US retailers through collecting, buying, receiving and distributing individual cosmetic orders.
Each month, it nominates a US online retailer that it purchases bulk orders from and enables consumers to buy single items without the extra expense.
“We are a modern day version of an Avon representative providing access to a wide variety of brands” says Charmaine Graham, Managing Director of USA Shopping Affair.
She further explains, “Ideally services such as USA Shopping Affair will place pressure on cosmetic brands to reduce their mark-ups here in Australia. We recently saw the brand Kiehl’s reduce their Australian prices, some by 50 percent, making them comparable with overseas prices. We can only hope that other cosmetic brands will follow suit.”
To find out more about USA Shopping Affair, visit www.usashoppingaffair.com.au or call 0488 109 519.