Rising value sales, coupled with a fall in occasions, point to shifting priorities and premiumisation.
From cosmetics to haircare – and the story shifts slightly. Hair care remained in value growth in both 2020 and 2021. Conditioner and treatment in particular have helped drive growth, rising from 4% growth from 2020 vs. 2019 to 7% growth 2021 vs. 2020.
Yet when we look to usage data, we see a similar story to Cosmetics. In Europe, there’s been a decline in the number of occasions – for example, the UK has seen a decline of 18% between 2017 and 2022.
The US has remained stable, but in Mainland China and Brazil, positive growth in occasions continues – albeit at a slower rate than in 2017. Shampoo usage in particular is driving the overall simplification of haircare – the frequency of hair washing has declined globally as people remained indoors and felt less need to wash their hair, which may be linked to the trend towards longer hair which we’ll cover on the next page.
This decline in occasions coupled with a rise in value sales points to a sector that is seeing premiumisation in its products driving higher price points - but driving sustainable growth will require keeping up with changing consumer needs.
We’ve seen a global increase in the % of females with shoulder length hair or longer – with the exception of Mainland China, which has fallen from 76% to 70% since 2017. Mainland China is also the only country that hasn’t seen a fall in the frequency of hair washing. But the rest of the globe has seen consistent growth. Spain has seen an increase from 53% of females with shoulder length hair or above up to 59% in 2021.
This trend, coupled with the increase in working from home, might explain the overall decrease in the number of people washing their hair.
While we’ve seen a decrease in the total hair care occasions in some markets, this is mainly due to the fall in styling. Conditioner and treatment are in occasion growth, linked to a growing awareness of concerns such as hair loss which require special treatment to address.
Treatment is the primary way to maintain healthy hair. Awareness for hair loss has risen globally – but particularly in Mainland China, from 30% to 35% between 2017 vs. 2021.
This awareness is translating directly into value sales. Total value sales for shampoo has grown at a steady rate between 2021 vs. 2020, rising as high as 10% in India. Yet products which target specific hair conditions, such as anti-hair loss and anti-dandruff products have grown at a faster rate.
For example, Korea saw 38% growth in value sales for anti-hair loss products 2021 vs. 2020, and Taiwan saw a 21% value growth in the same time.
One of the key trends we’ve found is a move away from professional colouring. This is in decline across all markets. In the UK, this has fallen from 25% to 19%. It seems this shift may be headed towards in-home treatments. In the same time period, the UK has seen an increase from 25% to 27% in females who have coloured their hair at home themselves.
The average consumer is shifting away from professional haircare and seeking this quality at home instead. The number one hair colour dyed professionally, blonde, is still relatively strong in the professional market – but this could serve as an opportunity for manufacturers looking to expand into the blonde at-home treatment category.
