6 Key Factors Driving Growth in the Personal Care Industry

The Personal Care & Beauty Market is experiencing exciting times with record growth being seen  – the revenue in the industry amounts to US $534.00bn in 2022  – with no signs of things slowing down.

Brands are building connected beauty systems to personalize skin care treatments and gather behavioral data on shoppers, all of which create aspirational demands for companies in the personal care industry. Here are Revieve's six key factors driving growth in the personal care industry: 

1. Customers Call For More Action 

Today's consumers rightly want more from the beauty sector. They have become keener to understand their contribution through purchasing and whether or not brands support their beliefs and align with their social and ethical values. 

For instance, a survey conducted by Mintel indicates that 48% of customers want to know whether their purchase positively impacts the environment, "such as one tree planted per purchase." As a result, customers expect brands and retailers to become more transparent about their positive credentials and await brands to provide more information and education about their contribution throughout their customer journey.  

To best respond to customers' needs and communicate social, environmental, and ethical values to customers more comprehensively, brands have to understand their audiences on a more personal level. Collecting and analyzing zero- and first-party data allows for consumer understanding required to serve the individual shopper's needs and tug customers' heartstrings. Once brands can engage with shoppers more intimately, customers are more likely to resonate with the business's message and purchase from the brand again. 

2. Growth in Emerging Markets

Personal care sales in emerging markets continue to increase. The beauty market's largest segment is the segment of Personal Care, with a market volume of US$ 534.00 bn in 2022. While home self-care is trending, AR & AI technology and beauty software solutions, online makeup apps, online bookings, self-check-ins, online payments, and many such features will eliminate unnecessary touch interactions. 

The boundaries that previously separated work, self-care, and home have dissolved, and experiences are transforming to address this significant shift. In beauty, we have seen brands develop makeup routines imbued with skincare ingredients to care for the skin. Furthermore, since the pandemic has dramatically altered our perception of health as consumers and individuals, brands have to keep an eye on consumer health and wellness trends, potentially increasing demand for skin health attributes, hybrid beauty products, minimalism skincare routines, and in-home digital experiences.

‍3. Offering deeper knowledge

The awareness of personal health has led to increased skincare and hair care product manufacturing, thus driving the demand for personal care ingredients, which is anticipated to fuel the market growth.

Knowledge generates trust and creates confidence. Consumers are more knowledgeable and have the information they want at their fingertips. They want to know what's in their beauty products and be part of your brand's ecosystem. They accept suggestions, recommendations, direction, and advice when they do. When you are willing to share your knowledge with a customer, you make them a more intelligent customer. That makes it easier for them to make educated and informed choices. The educated buyer will, and often buys, more.

We've noticed a customer experience gap that left many consumers unsatisfied with brands' products and services simply due to a lack of experience and individual hair knowledge. This is why we've decided to do a deep-dive into technology to enable customers to be in the spotlight and treat their hair like a professional stylist, said John Winer, Vice President of Digital Living Proof.

Brands and retailers must ensure that consumers get relevant education, product information, and personalization throughout the customer journey. 

‍4. 'Huge Surge' In Male Beauty Interest Worldwide

Today's brands employ direct-to-consumer distribution and refreshed packaging to attract a new generation of male consumers. Men rate mental well-being as the most critical health factor, as opposed to the absence of disease. When stress is considered one of the biggest threats to human health, addressing this pain point is an ample opportunity for product marketers to stand out.

Moreover, men are willing to spend money on their skin, but they are not always aware which services can help them. Based on Revieve's proprietary user engagement data with Revieve's AI Skincare Advisor for all partners across 40 countries and all continents during Q1 2022 research, men are curious to learn more about their skin condition. Results showed that 53% of male users decided to take a selfie while going through the AI Skincare Advisor experience, which is 15% higher than female users. Moreover, men are more willing to get product recommendations from retailers than women: the percentage of men navigating to a product recommendation page is higher than women. 

As a result, brands like Bulldog Skincare flagged the barrier of entry for men to skincare as a pain point in the customer journey. They wanted to ease this by creating a safe space for men to explore without barriers and ignite their curiosity to learn about their skin. Together with Bulldog Skincare for Men, we created an experience based on AI technology that allows men to take a selfie of their skin to receive a virtual analysis and product recommendations for their specific issues, providing more accessibility and education for men.

‍5. Individualizing the customer journey 

Customer journeys have become more complex and not linear—leaving them with a lack of confidence in their decision-making at any stage of the customer journey.

They have become more confident in their purchases thanks to technological advances and tailored product recommendations. However, brands and retailers need loads of customer data to personalize effectively. This is where AI-powered personalization can gather rich, first-party consumer data that can help brands and retailers build more tailored customer relationships at scale. Delivering a suite of tech-powered experiences helps create valuable and meaningful experiences to make consumers' sharing of their preferences more rewarding. It enables brands to earn customer loyalty, making the customer care for the brand even more, purchase after purchase.

‍6. Ageless Beauty

Aging demographic trends and the increasing desire to retain youthful appearances have groomed the cosmetics industry worldwide. This growing consumer segment deserves brands' attention. 

Personal care companies are adjusting product lines to accommodate baby boomers and incoming millennials. Gen-Z-focused brands, such as UK-based Plenaire and Millie Bobby Brown's Florence by Mills, have also been on the rise, recently launched in Ulta. Millennials focus on preventing and delaying aging, thus driving product innovations for a broader spectrum of age-related functional concerns. Companies started to target younger segments as a growth area in the anti-aging category.