Retail & E-Commerce
The State of Beauty and Personal Care
Report summary
Consumers take a critical eye to their beauty and personal care purchases. Shoppers trying to save money are trading down for lower cost alternatives or putting off purchases altogether. Inflation isn’t solely to blame for the downturn in consumer shopping in this category. The prevalence of dupe culture online and consumers’ desire to try new products are also threats to brand loyalty. More budget-friendly mass beauty brands are reaping the benefits of those forces.
Based on survey interviews conducted monthly since October 2022 and Morning Consult Intelligence’s daily consumer survey, this report provides insight into how beauty and personal care shopper behaviors are changing over time.
Key Takeaways
- High-volume beauty shoppers are pulling back due to inflation. The share of shoppers purchasing four or more beauty and personal care items per month fell across 2024, though high-income shoppers have largely preserved their spending.
- Trading down and dupes threaten brand loyalty. Dupe culture is prevalent on social media, and helps shoppers find less expensive alternatives for trendy products.
- Purchasing consideration for budget beauty brands is on the rise. But beauty and personal care users aren’t abandoning prestige products, they’re mixing high and low.
- Most shoppers prefer buying beauty products in stores. Stores have the advantage of higher consumer trust and testing products in person, though key groups like high income consumers are more likely than most to prefer buying beauty online.
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Methodology
The research in this report is drawn from multiple sources:
- Consumer retail behaviors featured throughout are from monthly surveys conducted between October 2022 to September 2024, among roughly 2,200 U.S. adults per month, with a margin of error of +/-2 percentage points.
- Consumer spending data featured on page 4 draws from a survey conducted monthly, among a representative sample of 2,200 U.S. adults. Data is collected during the first week of each month, with all questions pertaining to the previous month.
- Economic data featured on page 5 draws from a survey conducted October 4-9, 2024, among a representative sample of 2,025 adults, with a margin of error of +/-2 percentage points.
- Data on dupes featured on page 6 draws from a survey conducted Oct. 2-5, 2023, among a representative sample of 2,216 U.S. adults, with a margin of error of +/-2 percentage points.
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