What you need to know
While the beauty market had previously been growing at a faster rate than the personal care market, seeing stable growth in 2018, consumer spending on beauty has also now fallen into decline, dropping by 1.4% in 2019. A tendency by consumers to seek out the most competitively priced products and to bulk buy, as well as heavy discounting in the sector, has dented the size of the beauty and personal care market.
Although retail sales at health and beauty specialists have continued to rise in 2019, growth in the sector has slowed as the market has become more saturated. A number of the leading mature health and beauty specialists, including Boots and Superdrug, have struggled to gain market share in the UK as they face intense competition from smaller players and non-specialist retailers including supermarkets, department stores and the online channel.
The online beauty and personal care market has seen strong sales and the channel now accounts for 22% of all consumer spending on BPC. This has been driven by Generation Z and Millennials increasingly opting to purchase products online, as well as new technology innovations helped by developments in AR and AI that have made it easier for consumers to try on makeup virtually.
Products covered in this Report
Mintel commissioned consumer research for this Report to assess the beauty and personal care retail market. Research was carried out by Lightspeed among 2,000 internet users. The Report examines the UK beauty and personal care retailing market for men and women aged 16 and over. It covers:
Beauty – including makeup and colour cosmetics, nail care, fragrances and skincare.
Personal care – including haircare, body care, hair removal and everyday toiletries such as oral hygiene, bathing and deodorants.
BPC accessories and electricals – including hair and makeup brushes, hairstyling tools, beauty and dental tools.
Health and wellbeing – including vitamins and supplements, medicines and treatments.
The consumer research focuses on beauty and personal care purchases, including beauty accessories and electrical appliances. Health and wellbeing are not included in the consumer research but are discussed in other sections.
The beauty and personal care market size includes: body, hand and footcare; colour cosmetics including nail colour; facial skincare; men’s and women’s fragrances; deodorants; depilatory products; hair colourants; hairstyling agents; oral hygiene; shampoos and conditioners; shaving products; soap, bath and shower products; and suncare.
