The humanisation of the digital is the next step

Salespeople in businesses affected by store closures have massively turned to online consultations and sales, with unexpected success, particularly in the cosmetics sector. — Getty images/AFP

Without a doubt, online sales exploded in 2020. But they also transformed. Salespeople, brought to a standstill because of store closures, massively switched to remote consultations... with a success that was not entirely anticipated, especially in the cosmetics sector. We have thus found human voices and personalised advice even in our online purchases. In its summer 2020 report, research and consulting firm Gartner concludes that this "virtual selling" is here to stay. A quarter of companies have moved their sales representatives into virtual sales roles and plan to retain this structure even after the pandemic. In fact, according to Salesforce, recruitments of this new kind of salesperson are even on the rise. For Sabrina Herlory, 42, Managing Director of M.A.C. Cosmetics, interviewed here, the future of brands will inevitably involve the humanisation of the digital.

What was your experience of the lockdowns at M.A.C. Cosmetics?