Covid dents UK beauty as consumers go out less says GlobalData

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Aug 25, 2020

The UK cosmetics and toiletries market may have a bright long-term future, but for 2020 it could see a 10% sales drop to £1.7 billion as consumer habits change. Some 43% of UK consumers expect to socialise less often outside of their homes in the immediate future and so have little need to buy certain products.

That’s according to Globaldata, which said that the sector is “losing out in the Covid-19-driven decision between what is essential and what is dispensable”.

Lia Neophytou, Consumer Analyst at GlobalData, said that fewer out-of-home occasions for consumers to attend, as well as the transition to working from home, mean that “cosmetics have taken a backseat. Even when consumers do venture outdoors, the wearing of masks is further diminishing the need for cosmetics”. 

And while she added that all sectors in the cosmetics and toiletries industry are expected to return to growth in 2021, they won’t recoup their pre-Covid-19 value.

Another factor that will contribute to this is economic with 25% of UK consumers who find they’re earning less due to Covid-19 choosing to buy beauty and grooming products at the lower end of the price range in future, according to GlobalData’s Covid-19 Recovery Tracker Survey.

The sectors that are set to suffer the most are those whose products are used for out-of-home situations. That means fragrances and make-up will see greater declines than skincare and hygiene that are generally used irrespective of plans to socialise. In fact, the latter areas should benefit “as people have a heightened awareness of personal cleanliness amid the pandemic”.

But Neophytou think that even those brands operating in the skincare and personal hygiene categories still need a degree of innovation “to mitigate the extent of sector decline and speed up recovery”. She said that “investing in marketing campaigns and re-positioning products typically used out-of-home to align with the at-home occasion would be wise.”

An example includes a recent Vaseline range launch that both kills germs and moisturises skin, offering relief to those increasing their use of hand sanitisers, which may contain drying ingredients.