In a world with too many options, shoppers want to cut through the noise and find what best fits their vibe. This is especially true in the beauty and personal care industries, where a number of brands have angled their services to deliver on that customized journey.

Sally Beauty is looking to keep up with its contemporaries through recruitment and training processes that equip prospective, new, and longtime employees with the resources and knowledge to help customers along.

Earlier this year, the company started a pilot program for “virtual color experts”—licensed professionals that in-store customers connect with to work through their hair care needs—and these experts go through a training program designed to familiarize them with Sally’s product SKUs and store layouts.

• A customer shopping in a physical store connects with the virtual color expert via iPad.
• The program is currently available at 45 locations, with another 25 set to come online in early fiscal year 2023.

Some virtual color experts are hired internally and some externally, but Rutenber said all go through in-depth training that includes:

• Making sure the experts know about every product sold at Sally Beauty.
• Understanding the store lay out and where products are kept.

“Even though they are professionals…we put them through a robust training plan, so that they have a chance to create that consistent experience for our customers,” Brenda Rutenber, group VP at Sally Beauty, told Retail Brew.

Zoom out: The heightened demand for personalized products and services has remained steady more than two years after the start of the pandemic, particularly in younger cohorts. Roughly 49% of Zoomers and 37% of Millennials said they have a strong preference for products, services, or apps that use personal data to personalize the consumer experience, according to a McKinsey & Co. survey.

Keep reading here.—KM

Hard to say whether the recent TikTok challenge, “NyQuil chicken,” was more dangerous or disgusting. As demonstrated in videos on TikTok (some of which have been removed), the recipe calls for cooking chicken in cough syrup.

Along with the FDA, which sent out a warning about the dangers of the practice, Procter & Gamble, the parent company of NyQuil maker Vicks, took to social media to tell consumers it was a bad idea.

“Consumer safety is our number one priority, and we do not endorse inappropriate use of our product,” @NyQuilDayQuil tweeted on September 20. “It should be taken as directed using the dosage cup provided - not to exceed 4 doses in 24 hrs.”

Telling consumers to knock it off when they don’t use products as directed is a typical response from brands. But it’s not the only response.

Knock it off

When brands urged consumers to stop using products off-label.

• Benadryl. In another TikTok challenge in 2020, users urged one another to film themselves after they’d taken enough Benadryl to hallucinate. Benadryl maker Johnson & Johnson issued a statement warning them not to: “The Benadryl TikTok trend is extremely concerning, dangerous, and should be stopped immediately.”

Knock yourselves out

When brands encouraged using their products in creative ways.

• Vaseline: The brand’s original product, petroleum jelly, lists how it can moisturize and protect the skin on its label, while warning against use for deep wounds, animal bites, and serious burns.

But on its website, the brand also lists 101 other uses for the product, including such household uses as applying it to stuck zippers, to wood to remove scratches, and to hair to remove stuck gum.

Keep reading here.—AAN

Today’s top retail reads.

Penny pinched: Everyone knows rising inflation has persisted for at least the past year, but how exactly does a receipt from 2019 stack up against a current list? (the Boston Globe)

Meat your maker: With global supply-chain bottlenecks affecting the food industry, meat substitutes in Asia are seeing a boom, and investors are taking notice. (the Washington Post)

See ya: This year has seen at least 20 retail CEOs step down or retire. Here’s who they are and what they’re up to now. (Retail Dive)

Learn: The creator economy is showing no signs of slowing down—so if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em. Learn the basics from the best when you sign up for the Brew’s Strategy for Creators master class.

Interested in networking and engaging with top retail brands? We’ve got you covered.

Just give us a quick update on what you’ve been up to in the world of retail and you’ll be entered to win a ticket to The SKU.

We almost forgot the best part: You don’t have to come alone. You’ll also get a second ticket to give to one of your colleagues.

The numbers you need to know.

Depending who you ask, the holiday shopping season is among us. But this year won’t be as big as last year, according to some merchants.

More than half (53%) of merchants expect profits to be lower than 2021 because of inflation and other economic factors, per a survey conducted by CommX.

• Just under two-thirds (63%) of merchants said consumer confidence is their biggest concern for holiday shopping.
• In addition, just under a third (32%) plan on increasing their promotional volume this year over last year in an attempt to reach more customers.

Shoppers are on the lookout for deals from merchants dealing with bloated inventories, so sellers are looking to use promotions, email, SMS, and other shopping incentives to get customers to their stores.

• CommX found that paid search is the best method for reaching shoppers, ahead of affiliate marketing and paid social, which is declining because of measurement challenges.

Catch up on the Retail Brew stories you may have missed.

• How a new federal rule defining worker status could change delivery
• Tmall’s metaverse tech and the changing way Chinese consumers shop
• A peek at Bally’s Peak Outlook Foundation