Baiyinah Brookins

IND 250: Careers for the Digital Age

Dr. Chung

Computing and Digital skills in the Natural Beauty Care Industry: Interview

            For this assignment I’ve chosen to interview the buyer at a small health food store to get a better understanding of the role that technology has played in the health and beauty industry.

1.)   What role does the internet and technologies play in the natural beauty industry?

The ordering process for a number of different products are conducted solely online however some orders are still placed by making phone calls. The natural health and beauty industry continues to grow as consumers recognize the benefits of limiting petro-chemicals in beauty care products. She cites the fact that this industry started out with a small number of businesses catering to what was a niche market. Those numbers have exploded in resent years primarily because of a growing awareness by consumers. Technology in my position is limited to online ordering, there is not much automation, there is a POS (point of sale) system that the health food store currently uses that tracks inventory. This has made the process easy as the number of products that the health food store has grown.  

2.)   Do you feel that coding or having coding skills is important in your industry?

She went on to say, “Honestly I don’t have much experience with coding and have almost no coding skills. I feel that these skills may be necessary if I was creating a website but as a buyer I have not run into any problems in recent years because of my limited coding knowledge." She went on to mention that as the industry becomes more and more technology friendly it may be beneficial in the future.

3.)   Big data is defined as larger volumes of data that require innovative solutions for process automation. What role does big data and analytics play in the natural beauty care industry?

There may be a role in a larger organization that sale hundreds or thousands of products however where I work is a small, and has a limited amount of sales and inventory data. Processing this type of information is easily obtained by accessing the POS (point of sale) system. I think that having knowledge about big data and analytics is important for students because they may go on to become a buyer for a larger organization.

4.)   What is the role does website development play in your industry?

 She mentioned that as a buyer she rarely accesses web development or software tools, and she also stated that currently she doesn't see a need for it as a buyer. As a smaller organization it plays a limited role as a buyer but there may be a role played at other smaller organizations because this may not be something that can be out sourced because of budget constraints.

5.)   Do applications (apps) or games play a role in your industry?

"From what I have had the opportunity to observe apps and games play a limited to non-existent role. Again the industry is constantly evolving and this may change in the near future." 

Check out this great article that highlights the increasing demand for natural hair and beauty care products.

http://www.cosmeticsandtoiletries.com/formulating/category/natural/Demand-for-Organic-Beauty-to-Grow-to-Over-13-Billion-by-2018-Report-Says-213160491.html  

Works Cited

Demand for Organic Beauty to Grow to Over $13 Billion by 2018, Report Says. (2016). Cosmeticsandtoiletries.com. Retrieved 4 March 2016, from http://www.cosmeticsandtoiletries.com/formulating/category/natural/Demand-for-Organic-Beauty-to-Grow-to-Over-13-Billion-by-2018-Report-Says-213160491.html