Discovery is Social, Attention Is Yesterday’s Currency – What Will Win the Next Era of Beauty Marketing?

Hardly any industry has shaped the social media age as profoundly as beauty. This is where influencers became key players, reach turned into the dominant currency, and the battle for attention evolved into the core business model. A tutorial, a product drop, a viral look — whoever was seen, sold. But that model is beginning to crack. Attention is fragmented, costs are rising, and consumers are becoming more skeptical.

At the same time, new players are entering the decision-making moment: ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and others. Their recommendations are becoming the new gateway to product discovery, while agentic shopping is closing the loop from discovery to purchase within a single conversation. Beauty is once again approaching a turning point — one that will determine who buys, what gets recommended, and who earns consumer trust.

This panel explores what comes after attention. If attention is no longer the scarce resource, what becomes the defining currency instead — trust, proof, recommendability? Who will shape purchase decisions in the future: the brand, the creator, or the algorithm? And can the beauty industry once again become the blueprint for next-generation marketing?