Harris study finds mass market cosmetics hold their own agai

A US-based study has found that despite the designer names and higher price tags of prestige cosmetics, mass market brands with lower costs score comparable grades when it comes to how well US consumers trust and buy a particular brand.

According to the 2012 Harris Poll EquiTrend study published by the international market research firm Harris Interactive, mass market cosmetic brands such as Physicians Formula have been found to rival prestigious brands for top equity scores thanks to social media marketing and consumer engagement.

The study measured brand equity by polling over 37,000 US consumers about their familiarity with the brand name products, the quality associated with the brand and how often a consumer considers the brand when buying cosmetics.

“When we compare all the cosmetics brands irrespective of category, mass market brands perform very well when compared to their prestige counterparts, particularly traditional department store brands like Estée Lauder and Elizabeth Arden,” says Joan Sinopoli, spokesperson for Harris Interactive.