A near-global decline in value sales reflects a longer-term fall in usage that the pandemic only accelerated.
Cosmetics value sales declined in nearly every market from 2019 to 2021, with this fall in sales down to the fact that cosmetics occasions declined everywhere in the last year. The pandemic certainly exacerbated the global decline, with cosmetics most impacted by less triggers for usage.
However, this fall in usage was a trend that was in full flow before the first case of COVID-19 was discovered. The UK for example has seen the number of usage occasions down by nearly 50% since 2017.
One of the major factors affecting usage is the global trend towards achieving a ‘natural look’. Over two-thirds of females globally prefer to wear little makeup for a more natural look. This is a growing trend, except for in Brazil, which is experiencing a decline in women wanting a natural look. Brazil is also a heavily professional market – with 17% of females (in 2021) getting their makeup done professionally, a much higher proportion than anywhere else.
90% of Mainland China agree they prefer a natural look and to wear little makeup, higher than anywhere else. Mainland China is also seeing a growth in occasions (10% up 2021 vs. 2017), which might indicate that Chinese females are achieving a natural look through increased usage.
The global trend towards fewer usage occasions is particularly strong in Europe. Routines are also simplifying – people are spending less time applying makeup across a number of occasions. ‘On getting up’, ‘getting ready for work/school’ and ‘pre-socialising’ have all seen a fall in the number of minutes consumers spend getting ready within.
With fewer usage occasions comes the need to premiumise. Manufacturers need to focus on how they can target these fewer occasions with a more premium product or offer to capture this more limited market share.
When we look at number of occasions across face, eye and lip, we see an interesting pattern emerge. Face and lip occasions fell significantly (by 27% and 40% respectively in Spain). However, if we continue to examine Spain as an example, there was an increase in the number of occasions (up 2%).
One possible explanation for this is that masks fortunately don’t cover our eyes. So, while face and lip makeup declined as masks covered up these areas, there was an increased focus on eye makeup. But the arrival of masks wasn’t the only cause of this trend. In Europe and the US, the comparatively better performance of eye products is part of a longer-term trend, as people go foundation and lipstick free in pursuit of the natural look but continue to apply makeup to their eyelashes and eyebrows.
There’s also been a global increase in ‘enhancing eye colour’ as a primary reason for using eye makeup – indicating not only a growing market for eye makeup, but also a specific niche through which to target consumers.
Sustainability is front and centre of the global conversation when it comes to cosmetics. We’re seeing a global emphasis from consumers on using sustainable products. Mainland China has been consistent in its pursuit of trying to avoid using products which are harmul to the environment – maintaining an impressively high 90% between 2017 vs. 2020.
Across Europe, we’ve seen an upward trend towards sustainability. In Britain, the percentage who try to avoid using products that are harmful to the environment has risen significantly, from 41% to 49%.
These trends mirror our report, ‘Who Cares, Who Does,’ in which we found that the amount of Eco-Active households globally had risen from 16% to 22% between 2019 vs. 2021. Not only is the number of eco-active households on the rise – these households also spend more than the average household on Beauty. For example, in France Eco-Active shoppers spend 5% more per Beauty trip.
