AIBU to never shop at Space NK again?

[JenniferJupiterr]

I’ll preface this by saying that if instagram, influencers and celeb type culture is not your thing, you’ll be better off skipping this one as it truly won’t be of interest!

Anyway. I noticed a few days ago that Space NK have organised a PR trip to Miami. Stacey Solomon, her sister, Rochelle Humes plus husband, Perrie Sian etc etc are all there and I just can’t understand the point? Could anyone enlighten me because all I can see is sheer bloody excess for the sake of it - tons of freebie products for these people (and all power to them! This isn’t a jealousy thing) , boat trips, £££ dinners laid on, huge limo type vehicles laid on - you get the drift.

but why? What are Space NK hoping to achieve here? They all flew out first class and it genuinely must have cost hundreds of thousands of pounds.

I get PR gifting and trips. But this seems just sheer OTT excess for no reason that I can fathom. It’s REALLY put me off shopping with them again. Not entirely sure why - maybe because I’ve got the ick?

Anyone else feel similar?

You’ve decided your life is superior based on a post about a brand? Bless you.

This. They’ve shown me I’m not their target demographic too. They’ve changed my view of where they sit as a brand. Influencer marketing is annoying but ubiquitous, their specific choices of which influencers / where is amplifying that.

Didn’t know about this but completely agree, very poor taste.

Well it must work otherwise why would brands do it? I worked in publishing (the social media of the dark ages) and some magazines got tons of freebies sent to them. Or they were invited out for the weekend to shooting weekends and one of my colleagues got a trip on a safari (so they would write about it). It’s nothing new.

@ToKittyornottoKitty I mean, if you think fake writhing on a pool table whilst screaming out a song and one influencer saying 6 times in one sentence alone that’s she’s ‘ SO excited’ isn’t forced then err you do you!

Could it be they’ve gone to the US as Ulta has bought Space NK? I’d far rather we had Ulta here though.

I shop there as it’s the only place I can get Lisa Eldridge stuff without having to go to Birmingham or London.

Clearly you are enjoying watching all the footage, I haven’t seen it all, but you do you!

same! but I'm probably not their target market. But, yeah, if I see brands give stuff away for free to people who can easily afford it, it really puts me off paying full price for it!

So you’re paying for marketing then? Same old.

This. No idea why they’d take so many low-rent grifters away.

Do you object to companies paying big stars to do their TV ads, or paying huge sums to rent very prominent billboards? It’s all just advertising spend, they wouldn’t do it if it didn’t increase profits.

Stop shopping there if you think their stuff is too expensive but don’t tie yourself up in knots trying to understand their business model.

Nah mate, I’m not that bothered about what Stace and Rochelle do, or Space whateves for that matter. X

I used to have a deluxe membership with them and then a couple of years ago I saw they were sending Santa’s with thousands of pounds worth of stuff to people to put on their stories.
So now browse in the shop but buy directly through the brands who often have quite good deals on their websites anyway.
Clearly hasn’t done them any damage but doesn’t make it stick in my throat anymore 😂

I’ve unfollowed so many people over the last few years, because I can’t stand all the freebies and Ads. Stacey at least pays for items off small businesses unlike the Furore with Binky grifting. That’s the bitter pill isn’t it, people with far more money than most being given stuff they don’t even need, it all seems so wasteful.

I do like Space NK as it does a good loyalty scheme and brands like Juliette has a gun. I also really like their own brand shower gel. If I hadn’t clicked on this thread I would not have know that Stacey et al were advertising them. She does seem a wee bit different to what I assume their target market would be, but what do I know?

Must admit I agree. I follow quite a few of the more mature beauty gurus, and I find the freebie stuff cringey and smug. Fancy meals, gift bags, personalised goodies etc. It makes me feel excluded, rather than involved.

Not if any of the London stores are to go by. They are heaving every weekend. Long lines, you can barely get into the shops.

I’ve been a Space NK customer for donkey’s years and it’s never been more popular, largely due to TikTok promoting skincare to tweens and teens.

Advertising budgets are now spent differently, that’s all.

@DontShoutInMyEarholeTracey then it’s probably not the thread for you then as A you didn’t read it properly and B you’ve no interest in it

@UhOhRatPoo tying myself up in knots 😅😅😅

That’s different though in the sense that that was invisible to the consumer, yes it impacted the products we were shown but that final content was then ultimately tailored to us, the consumer.

Now we see other people being treated by the brands and receiving free product and that’s the content that’s meant to make us want to buy it, it’s kind of weird.

I’m not sure it is working, I think brands are scrabbling a little to understand marketing as the world changes quickly.

I mean this kind of trip is totally standard for this type of brand these days. Taking a bunch of influencers on a trip, getting a shit load of publicity. But you are right, it’s pretty shit to think that randos like us are paying for celebs/influencers to go on holiday by buying inflated cosmetics.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Nobody needs anything from space NK. Nothing at all. Skincare, makeup, it’s all a crazy con and I don’t know why anyone buys any of it. I’m nearly 50 and I have walked around my whole life with no skincare, no , no hair dye, no special nails - it’s all unnecessary and people look much better as they are. I’d say I’m on the low side of average looking and my skin is normal and I look approximately my age.

If we all stopped buying such utter frivolous shite and wore our own faces, space nk would close pretty quickly.

It’s simply advertising for them. If they were different celebrities /influencers would you have less ick? ie ones you like or find aspirational due to their talent or style?

I think they need to be careful with alienating the older customer with, often, more disposable income, in favor of the fickle teen and tween market. It’s reactionary.

That was meant to say no makeup

It would be better, but I still wouldn’t find seeing them on a free trip, appealing from a sales perspective.