Table of Contents
Executive Summary
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- Top takeaways
- Market overview
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- Figure 1: Consumer spending on personal care, at current prices, 2010-25
- Impact of COVID-19 on personal care
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- Figure 2: Short, medium and long term impact of COVID-19 on personal care, July 2020
- Opportunities and challenges
- Product usage is driven by more than just basic hygiene needs
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- Figure 3: Select products purchased and select personal care routines, May 2020
- Ease-of-use must be prioritized, but don’t underestimate the power of scent
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- Figure 4: Select purchase influencers and personal care routine, any rank (net), May 2020
- The growing need for self-care presents opportunities
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- Figure 5: Select personal care routine and behavior amid pandemic, May 2020
- Sustainability is at the forefront of young adults’ minds
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- Figure 6: More loyal to brands/retailers that are environmentally responsible, by age, May 2020
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- Figure 7: Procter & Gamble’s new packaging for Old Spice and Secret brands and Unilever’s new packaging for Dove
- The adoption of synthetic ingredients will speed up due to COVID-19
- Personal care routines should also be immunity-boosting
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- Figure 8: Instagram post about Kaia Naturals’ Turmeric Detox Effervescent Hot Bath
The Market – What You Need to Know
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- COVID-19 impacts personal care routines, both positively and negatively
- Expect stable sales and bans on plastic; tweakments change product needs
Market Perspective
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- COVID-19 impacts personal care routines, both positively and negatively
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- Figure 9: Personal care behaviors amid pandemic, May 2020
- Economic instability leads some adults to spend less on personal care
- Younger adults are spending more time on routines and ingredient research
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- Figure 10: Instagram posts about DIY beauty hacks
- Figure 11: Select personal care behaviors amid pandemic, by age, May 2020
Market Factors
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- Personal care spending is expected to stay afloat amid recession
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- Figure 12: Consumer spending on personal care, at current prices, 2010-25
- Bans on plastic are on the horizon
- COVID-19 is reinforcing the importance of sustainability
- Growing popularity of “tweakments” will change BPC product needs
Key Players – What You Need to Know
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- Hair color, hand products and self-care rituals benefit from lockdown
- Adults feel less obligated to shave and wash hair when at home
- Expect more clean, health-boosting claims and greater acceptance of synthetics
What’s Working
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- Salon closures give at-home hair color a boost
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- Figure 13: Instagram post from Madison Reed, March 2020
- Figure 14: Madison Reed Color Therapy
- Increased focus on hand hygiene benefits sanitizer and soap markets
- Legacy hand sanitizer brands see gains but face increased competition
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- Figure 15: Multi-outlet sales of Germ X and Purell hand sanitizers, rolling 52 weeks 2019 and 2020
- Figure 16: Instagram posts about new hand sanitizers
- Consumers find comfort in personal care rituals
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- Figure 17: The Body Shop’s Care Packages
- Protective face masks aren’t the only masks adults need in today’s COVID-19 world
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- Figure 18: Instagram post of Freeman’s Destress Jelly Mask + Cleanser
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- Figure 19: Instagram posts of Coco & Eve’s Bounce Body Masque and Lavanila’s The Healthy Underarm Detox Mask
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- Figure 20: Instagram posts of hand masks
What’s Struggling
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- Lockdown leads to longer purchase cycles for haircare market
- Adults take an even more relaxed approach to hair removal in lockdown
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- Figure 21: Instagram post with #covidbeard
What’s Next
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- Clean beauty will advance to functional categories
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- Figure 22: Instagram posts about Gillette Venus’s Pure Shaving Cream and Surface Deep’s Anti-Odorant
- Expect growing acceptance of synthetic natural ingredients
- Who is doing this well
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- Figure 23: Instagram posts from Syrene
- Immunity-boosting personal care products are set to flourish
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- Figure 24: Instagram posts about immunity-boosting bath products
The Consumer – What You Need to Know
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- Usage is driven by more than hygiene; most adults buy in-store
- Ease-of-use must be prioritized, but don’t forget about scent
- Is personal care stealing beauty’s thunder?
- Adults will continue to seek “clean” products for safety reasons
- Strong interest levels in innovations indicate opportunities
Products Purchased and Channel Usage
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- Usage of products is driven by more than basic hygiene needs
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- Figure 25: Instagram posts from Moon
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- Figure 26: Products purchased, May 2020
- Older adults stick to the staples
- Eco-minimalism may play a role in younger adults’ lower purchase rates
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- Figure 27: Products purchased, by age, May 2020
- Women drive category growth
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- Figure 28: Usage of select personal care products, by gender, May 2020
- Product substitution impacts usage among Black adults
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- Figure 29: Usage of select personal care products, by race and Hispanic origin, May 2020
- Most personal care products are purchased in-store...
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- Figure 30: Purchase channel, by product type, May 2020
- ...but shelter-in-place orders have accelerated the adoption of online shopping
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- Figure 31: Instagram post from Grove Collaborative
- Age highlights differences in how consumers shop
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- Figure 32: Purchase channel by select product type, by age, May 2020
Purchase Influencers
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- Ease-of-use must be prioritized, but don’t forget about scent
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- Figure 33: Purchase influencers, by rank, May 2020
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- Figure 34: Instagram post of Coconut Matter’s Mood deodorants
- Hierarchy of benefits differs between genders
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- Figure 35: Select purchase influencers, any rank (net), by gender, May 2020
- Natural claims are key drivers for Black and Hispanic adults
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- Figure 36: Select purchase influencers, any rank (net), by race and Hispanic origin, May 2020
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- Figure 37: Instagram posts from BLK + GRN
Personal Care Routines
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- Is personal care stealing beauty’s thunder?
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- Figure 38: Personal care routine, May 2020
- Make every day routines more exciting
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- Figure 39: Olay Body Masks
- Figure 40: Leg Mask by Nair
- Personal care and self-care continue to become intertwined
- There are opportunities to better reach mature, functionally-driven adults
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- Figure 41: Select personal care routines, by age, May 2020
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- Figure 42: Instagram posts from Better Not Younger
- Women aren’t the only ones who care about their appearance
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- Figure 43: Select personal care routines, by gender, May 2020
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- Figure 44: Every Man Jack Deodorants
Shopping Behaviors
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- Adults will continue to seek “clean” products for safety reasons
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- Figure 45: Shopping behaviors, May 2020
- Having sustainability strategies is key for reaching young adults
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- Figure 46: Select shopping behaviors, by age, May 2020
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- Figure 47: Instagram post from Dove
- Black and Hispanic adults want products they trust to be safe
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- Figure 48: Look for clean labeled products, by race and Hispanic origin, May 2020
Usage and Interest in Product Innovations
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- Strong interest levels in innovations indicate opportunities
- Adults want sustainable solutions
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- Figure 49: Trial and interest in product innovations, May 2020
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- Figure 50: Procter & Gamble’s new packaging for Old Spice and Secret deodorant brands
- Young adults are interested in gender-neutral products
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- Figure 51: BiC Made For YOU Razor and Schmidt’s Here+Now Natural Deodorant
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- Figure 52: Trial and interest in product innovations, any future interest (net), by age, May 2020
Appendix – Data Sources and Abbreviations
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- Data sources
- Consumer survey data
- Consumer qualitative research
- Abbreviations and terms
- Abbreviations
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