Beauty 2017-2018: What’s Working in Skin Care

CEW presented new data on the key trends in the beauty industry; photo credit: JF Productions.
CEW presented new data on the key trends in the beauty industry; photo credit: JF Productions.

Cosmetic Executive Women’s recent Global Trend Report event in New York provided a look at the trends that are reshaping the beauty industry, with expert insights provided by NPD, Mintel and Nielsen

Growth in Skin Care

U.S. skin sales grew 2% in 2016, according to Jordan Rost, VP, consumer insights, Nielsen. Karen Grant, SVP, global beauty industry analyst, NPD, noted that, unlike other beauty categories, skin care’s mass sales growth outpaced that of the prestige segment, the latter of which rose by 3%.

Men’s skin care grew 4% in 2016, per NPD data, with key segments growing by 7% to 74%.

She added that makeup-inspired skin care is on the rise, while anti-aging continues to stagnate. The category’s modest gains overall reflect its 2% decline in new product introductions.

Hot categories in facial skin care grew by 8-84%, said Grant, though the overall women’s facial skin care segment rose just 1% in 2016. The overall segment saw gains in the natural/spa and clinical areas. In terms of formats, oil declined slightly while clay and paper rose by 7% and 14%, respectively.

Retail Trends in Skin Care

Grant presented data that showed prestige skin care has the highest share of sales coming from online, compared to makeup and fragrance.

Rost noted that skin care consumers are heavy users of digital platforms for brand discovery, with the top sites including Pinterest, Instagram and Twitter. In addition, using charcoal masks as an example, it is increasingly clear that search traffic closely tracks sales trends.

 

 

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