Whereas Bitcoin (BTC) could also be thought of as a retailer of worth for a lot of, some shoppers throughout the globe could also be pondering in any other case. Latest knowledge has revealed that 46 million individuals in the US plan to make use of cryptocurrency to pay for issues resembling groceries or actual property. Payments large Visa additional revealed in July that its crypto-enabled playing cards processed over $1 billion in complete spending through the first half of this yr.
As such, it shouldn’t come as a shock that main brands like Starbucks, House Depot and Goal have began placing Bitcoin on their steadiness sheets. But, as crypto payments achieve recognition and turn out to be simpler to include, smaller brands — particularly these geared towards ladies — are beginning to accept crypto to assist drive feminine adoption.
Magnificence trade bets on Bitcoin
For instance, the billion-dollar magnificence trade has taken a latest curiosity in Bitcoin. Ann McFerran, CEO and founding father of Glamnetic — a magnetic eyelash magnificence model — advised Cointelegraph that the corporate now accepts Bitcoin, Ethereum (ETH) and Dogecoin (DOGE) via a latest partnership with Bitcoin cost supplier BitPay. Based on McFerran, Glamentic is without doubt one of the very first female-founded magnificence brands to help crypto payments.
McFerran shared that she began investing in cryptocurrencies in 2017, but observed that the area was closely male-dominated. To McFerran’s level, analysis agency BDC Consulting discovered that solely 8% of all crypto customers had been ladies in 2019. After launching Glamentic in July 2019, McFerran was decided to include crypto payments into the model to encourage ladies to make use of cryptocurrency:
“The beauty industry is a sector where crypto payments aren’t widely accepted. I wanted Glamnetic to be one of the first brands to support crypto payments since I’m a huge believer in cryptocurrency and because I want to bring more women into the space.”
McFerran additional talked about that she believes there may be nonetheless a number of stigma related to how crypto is getting used immediately. “It was certainly not a secure payment method to begin with,” she remarked. McFerran famous that occasions resembling Silk Street and Mt. Gox have additional resulted in ladies’s disinterest in crypto: “Even to this day, women are not fully educated when it comes to crypto. I want to educate others so they can understand the risks and what they are potentially missing out on.”
Although transacting with Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies for beauty products may encourage women to become interested in cryptocurrencies, this is just one part of the equation. Sanja Kon, CEO of Utrust — a banking system for crypto payments — told Cointelegraph that educating women around crypto depends heavily on a brand’s ability to reach their consumer base with the correct educational tools:
“More beauty brands adopting cryptocurrency payments can increase awareness, but not necessarily usage. Women need to feel comfortable using cryptocurrency as a payment method. In order for that to happen, brands should provide support and educational content to advocate adoption.”
Based on Kon, Utrust is facilitating this motion by investing sources into instructional plans with the corporate’s retailers. McFerran additionally famous that Glamnetic has began creating TikTok movies to coach shoppers on cryptocurrency, which might make a big effect given the notion that youthful shoppers usually tend to personal crypto. PYMNTS.com discovered that 27% of all millennials both personal or have owned one sort of cryptocurrency.
McFerran additional remarked that Glamnetic shall be releasing a magnetic eyelash assortment impressed by Dogecoin to assist drive adoption: “I think people will be more open to the idea of crypto if you turn that concept into an entire beauty product.”
Whereas Glamnetic could also be one of many first female-founded magnificence corporations to accept crypto payments, a handful of bigger beauty brands have additionally began incorporating crypto in different methods to drive feminine participation.
Associated: What can you purchase with Bitcoin: Locations to spend your crypto in 2021
Aubrey Strobel, head of communications at Lolli — a web based Bitcoin rewards platform — advised Cointelegraph that the corporate works with main retailers together with Sephora, Ulta, EM Cosmetics and Glossier. Based on Strobel, ladies make up 30% of Lolli’s person base. “Historically, women have lagged behind men in the space, but lead a vast majority of many households’ purchasing decisions,” Strobel mentioned.
Strobel defined that corporations providing Bitcoin rewards to shoppers are enticing to many patrons, particularly ladies who wish to “stack sats” when making purchases on-line.
This notion is highlighted in a latest report from The Defiant, titled “Global Report on Women, Cryptocurrency and Financial Independence.” On this doc, a girl named Christine famous that she sometimes learns learn how to handle cryptocurrency by working towards with small transactions. She said that she has been stacking sats to build up small quantities of Bitcoin over an extended time period. “When I travel, I like to buy coffee and other things with it,” Christine additional remarked.
Will Bitcoin catch on within the magnificence trade?
Whereas it’s too quickly to inform if crypto payments for magnificence merchandise will drive feminine participation inside crypto, a small influence is already being exhibited. McFerran shared that Glamnetic has already processed a handful of crypto transactions from ladies shoppers. Yuvi Alpert, founder and CEO of Noémie — a jewellery firm that additionally lately integrated crypto payments — additionally advised Cointelegraph that the model has at the moment solely seen crypto gross sales with their feminine clients.
Though this can be the case, findings present that the highest merchandise females are prone to spend cryptocurrency on are journey and leisure, actual property and furnishings or home equipment. But, whereas crypto payments could also be sluggish to catch on within the magnificence trade, brands incorporating cryptocurrency transactions will possible achieve a aggressive benefit.
Based on Kon, extra brands, basically, are beginning to perceive the benefit of accepting cryptocurrencies as a cost technique:
“They will be able to drastically reduce their payment processing fees, as blockchain allows to cut all the traditional intermediaries, such as banks, payment processors and credit card schemes. Additionally, these brands will be able to eliminate chargebacks and fraud, as well as increase their revenue by reaching out to new customers.”
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