Despite some publication’s best efforts to prove that skincare is a myth, people don’t seem to be buying it; in fact, people are actually buying more skincare than ever.
American market research company The NPD Group has released information on consumer shopping trends from last year, and the results show that spend on skincare in the US grew nine per cent, while makeup only grew six per cent.
According to NPD Group executive director and beauty industry analyst Larissa Jensen, skin care was a driving force behind the total prestige beauty category’s further six per cent gain in 2017.
Jensen’s explanation as to why people were buying more skincare than cosmetics, was that we have seen a “turnaround of moisturisers”:
“Big categories had been soft or declining, so when you look at what’s been happening in the past year, there’s been a turnaround in moisturiser [which makes up roughly 20 per cent of all prestige skin-care sales], launches and a language shift — it’s less ‘fix your wrinkles’ and more ‘take care of yourself' which is propelling the category forward.”
Jensen also noted that skincare was benefitting from its close ties to the ‘beauty wellness’ trend, as people want products with transparent ethics and ingredients.
In terms of what we should keep an eye on this year, Jensen says: “As we become more Instagram-focused, you want formulations and products and packaging to really stand out as you’re scrolling.
“It’s affecting product development in some ways… It’s becoming more than standing out on the shelf but also standing out on the scroll.”
