CPG Personal Care Industry Trends

When it came to personal care sales in 2020, increased e-commerce sales did not off-set the drop in retail sales for the industry. Even still, e-commerce sales for personal care items are expected to reach $35.08 billion USD in 2021

When buying personal care products, shopping online is still difficult for consumers who need to match colors, want to smell a product, or struggle with visualizing the amount of product when volume is listed in fluid ounces. Digital screen variations alter colors, and buying things like makeup and hair dye IRL may be preferred by many worried of buying the wrong color for what they need. Customer reviews, return policies, and the ability to try on products virtually with a selfie filter can help improve the experience for customers and validate their purchase.

Additionally, personal care items can often be impulse purchases. With many people going online, the temptation of a pretty package at checkout is gone, and they may be leaving the e-commerce site with only their essentials.

Many people are also looking to simplify their personal care routines and rely on fewer products going forward. 10 and 12-step beauty routines are on the decline as consumers look for fewer products that serve multiple purposes.

64% of consumers are looking for natural and organic ingredients in their personal care products.

Increased focus on environmental impact as well as understanding what we put in and on our bodies is driving consumer demand for environmentally careful brands and growing ingredient transparency, including sourcing for those ingredients.

The estimated revenue for organic cosmetics in 2021 is $1.1 billion USD.

Even before the pandemic, men were taking a great interest in new personal care products and routines. With barbers and salons closed—men embraced letting their hair grow out

or invested in products to groom hair at home. Both of these options required a little more room in their personal care budgets.

While face washes and makeup for men are more widely available, the products most men are reaching for in skincare are moisturizers and anti-aging.

Subscription services are also popular for men’s personal care products. For products that are regularly restocked by men like razors and shaving cream, a subscription service is appealing because they can rely on the same products coming directly to their door at the same time each month. Or, alternatively, they have the ability to try new products easily through a subscription.

The pandemic altered nearly every facet of our lives, which made a big impact on our personal care routines. First and foremost being mask mandates across the world that impacted makeup and skincare routines. Closed spas, nail salons, barbers, and hair salons caused many to embrace new personal styles or new habits to maintain their style.
Staying home and wearing face masks has protected many from contracting and spreading the virus, but these did mean a lower need for products like makeup.

On the other hand, stress, anxiety, and beneath-the-mask face sweat did lead to a greater demand for certain skincare products—like those that treat acne and promote relaxation or self care.

Those who would get weekly or monthly beauty treatments had to shift their routines. Because salons were down for a period of time and, even if open, some people were (or still are) hesitant to go. Beauty kits and other items started selling at an all time high in 2020. Consumers are choosing to do their own beauty treatments at home in order to save money or stay safe—but they are also realizing that it’s not too difficult to do yourself once you invest in a few tools.

Quarantine Cut & Color

Whether you watched the online videos in horror or you picked up the kitchen scissors yourself for a haircut during lockdown—there’s more behind a quarantine cut than boredom and closed salons. When faced with a big change that is out of our control, people often make big changes they do have control over, and for many, that change comes in the form of a haircut.

The psychological component of controlling something within our means amidst uncertainty may explain the growth of sales in personal care products like clippers, scissors, treatments, and dyes. However, as we start to see the light at the end of the quarantine tunnel, many might feel the need to make another big change to their style in the post-pandemic era. Brands should start to embrace the possibility of post- pandemic hair and style changes now in their promotional strategies.

For CPG brands, growing and maintaining a relationship with consumers is critical in today’s market. These are some key ways to steer your tactics in the right direction:

References:

• https://www.statista.com/study/53666/hair-care-market-in-the-us/
• https://www.statista.com/outlook/cmo/beauty-personal-care/united-states
• https://www.statista.com/study/21692/beauty-brands-on-social-media-statista-dossier/
• https://www.premiumbeautynews.com/en/mintel-s-four-key-beauty-and,18043
• https://greyjournal.net/play/style/4-mens-grooming-and-skincare-trends-in-2020/
• https://www.gcimagazine.com/marketstrends/segments/bathbody/Mens-Grooming- Trends-572579491.html
• https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/03/coronavirus-quarantines-are-upending-beauty- routines/608689/
• https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/consumer-packaged-goods/our-insights/how-covid-19-is- changing-the-world-of-beauty
• https://www.statista.com/study/51761/natural-organic-cosmetics-in-the-us/
• https://nrf.com/blog/2020-beauty-trends
• https://www.statista.com/statistics/720892/men-s-grooming-market-size-by-region-worldwide/

Customer engagement may be difficult to measure and perform well at scale, but it undoubtedly leads to higher profitability and customer retention. Looking ahead, the future of customer engagement is going to involve even more personalized experiences.

To reach this future, brands need to optimize their people, operations, and technology to create a consistently positive feedback loop with customers. This will keep you in touch with your customers’ evolving needs, build your brand integrity, and allow you to use data to further improve their experiences.

And that's where Snipp comes in.

We provide global marketing and loyalty technology solutions that bring together modular SaaS technology with best-in-class marketing expertise to help you increase sales, retain customers, and unlock intelligent decision making.