Last year, in an effort to battle impulse buying and hyperconsumerism, Deciem – parent company of The Ordinary – closed its stores and website on Black Friday. Across the rest of the month, the brand discounted all products by 23 per cent and encouraged people to be more mindful.
This year, Deciem is waging war on Black Friday once again. “It’s important for us to think deeply about the long-term relationship we want to have with people, and people no longer appreciate being burdened with slow-selling stock that they were subconsciously driven into buying in a rush,” explains the brand’s VP Dionne Lois Cullen. “It’s so important that skincare decisions are not based on impulse. We all have different skin concerns, and purchasing something simply because it was deeply discounted in a flash sale won’t deliver results. We want to bring true value to our audience and this doesn’t happen through creating an environment of hype.”
In addition to the 23 per cent discount across the site which returns once again, Deciem is also offering education and resources around how people can be more mindful with their spending – benefitting not only them, but also the planet too. “We are all playing a part in how the future will look, and the planet simply cannot sustain current lifestyles. It’s our responsibility as a brand to be mindful of how we communicate to ensure that the purchases we are encouraging are considered,” Cullen continues.
This will see the launch of ‘Skintellectuals’ – a five-part series with experts and Deciem voices answering the most-asked questions surrounding skincare. “Each report contains a discussion of studies that have been published around that topic and suggests which ingredients may be suitable to address the concern based on scientific evidence,” shares Cullen on what to expect from the series. “They’re quite lengthy and feel pretty science-heavy – we like to present facts!”
If you’re interested in educating yourself further on conscious spending, Cullen has simple advice. “One of the main things that can help us all to buy better is simply to take a pause. It’s also really impactful to imagine where the product will be a year after you bought it,” she concludes. “As humans we have a habit of collecting things, but we are learning more and more that collecting experiences and finding joy in what we have around us is more rewarding in the long-term.”
