In response to intentional spending, prestige skincare brands need to be flexible with their product strategies, enrich their presence in the cosmetic surgery+ field and strengthen their independent research capabilities to better adapt to market changes and overcome industry-wide difficulties.
Tina He, Senior Analyst, China Insights
Market Definitions
This Report focuses on consumer attitudes towards and usage of prestige facial skincare products. In our survey, prestige skincare primarily includes:
- Facial cleansers over RMB300
- Facial toners/softeners over RMB300
- Facial moisturisers/emulsions/lotions over RMB300
- Facial serums/essences/concentrates over RMB500
- Eye creams/essences over RMB500
Mintel defines prestige brands as high-end brands that are typically sold behind the counter in department store beauty halls (eg Lancôme, NARS, Clarins). This also includes designer brands in the fashion and accessories industry (eg Dior, Chanel, YSL). However, with the BPC market becoming more diverse and inclusive, brand types and sales channels are not limited to those mentioned above, and any type of brand can claim a prestige positioning through its pricing.
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Executive summary
- Definition
- What you need to know
- Market pressured as prestige BPC users shift to streamlined skincare and intentional consumption, while cosmetic surgery concepts and consumers take the spotlight
- Anti-ageing is the core of prestige skincare consumption and also the focus of new product competition
- Three major changes in prestige skincare consumers
- Keys to success
- What we think
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The market
- Market factors
- The cosmetics consumer market faces a downturn in 2024
- Graph 1: retail data on consumer goods in the cosmetics industry, 2023-24
- Prestige skincare’s performance on mainstream ecommerce platforms reflects that of the broader market
- Graph 2: skincare sales performance on Tmall, 2022-24
- Graph 3: skincare sales performance on Douyin, 2022-24
- Under the influence of domestic economic slowdown and various uncertainties, the consumer willingness of target users of prestige skincare products is also affected
- Graph 4: social media engagement related to ‘middle class gone poor’, January 2022 – January 2025
- Under the ‘skincare streamlined’ trend, nearly forty percent of prestige skincare consumers are reducing their skincare steps
- Graph 5: skincare routine change, 2024
- Less stockpiling during ecommerce sales and increasingly prudent and cautious purchase decisions also contribute to the sluggish growth in sales
- ‘Cosmetic surgery+’ has become a powerful means to attract high-value consumer groups
- Graph 6: changes in spending on facial skincare, by whether they have undergone cosmetic surgery, 2024
- Graph 7: changes in facial skincare routine, by whether they have undergone cosmetic surgery, 2024
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Market competition
- Market segmentation
- Tmall remains the main platform for prestige skincare products; Douyin’s share of prestige product sales has decreased
- Graph 8: Tmall platform facial skincare volume sales, by product price positioning, 2022-24
- Graph 9: Douyin facial skincare volume sales, by product price positioning, 2022-24
- Prestige lotion/cream: the proportion of volume sales for items priced over RMB1,000 has gradually increased over three years on Tmall
- Prestige lotion/cream: more than half of the products are concentrated in the RMB500-750 price range on Douyin
- Prestige lotion/cream: the share of firming and anti-wrinkle functions in volume sales has increased, and soothing effects have gained their place on Tmall
- Prestige essence/serum: on Tmall, the proportion of products priced below RMB1,000 has decreased, while those priced RMB1,000-1,250 have increased; although the proportion for items over RMB1,750 is small, it has also climbed
- Prestige essence/serum: on Douyin, the proportion of products priced below RMB1,000 has rapidly increased to nearly half, while the proportion of products priced above RMB1,750 has decreased but is still higher than on Tmall
- Prestige essence/serum: the share of firming, anti-wrinkle and soothing effects in the sales of prestige serums is enhanced in 2024
- New product trends
- The market share of both prestige and budget products increased in 2024, showing polarisation
- Graph 10: price positioning of new facial skincare launches, 2020-24
- More anti-ageing related claims in new products
- Graph 11: mainstream claims of prestige+* facial skincare launches, 2020-24
- Use derivatives of classic components to drive product upgrades and iterations
- Benchmarking the ingredients and formulations against cosmetic surgery projects
- Integration of beauty and medical devices accelerates the transformation towards specialisation and prestige branding
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The consumer
- Prestige skincare consumers have become more cautious, while cosmetic surgery users have a strong willingness to pay
- 40% of prestige facial skincare users say they are spending less on the category
- 41% of prestige users who are cutting expenses report they are reducing skincare steps higher than the average; the high correlation suggests that simplifying skincare is a reason for reduced spending
- Graph 12: change in skincare routine, by spending changes on prestige facial skincare, 2024
- Functional and high perceived value products are less likely to be eliminated by consumers
- Graph 13: products consumers would cut spending on, 2024
- Prestige skincare users are more inclined towards instant gratification: brands’ day-to-day customer operation and retention become crucial
- Graph 14: attitudes towards stockpiling, 2024
- Intentional consumption drives product sampling and multi-channel price comparisons
- Graph 15: purchase behaviours of prestige BPC , March 2024 vs November 2024
- Platform algorithms attract a promising user base for product sampling
- Low-budgeters turn to fragmented purchases
- Graph 16: selected prestige skincare purchase behaviours, by changes in spending on prestige skincare, 2024
- Cosmetic surgery users have a strong willingness to pay for prestige skincare
- ‘Post-cosmetic surgery’ concept supports potential for premiumisation
- Innovation in ingredients increases the value of post-cosmetic surgery products
- Efficacy occupies the focus in consumer decision-making, with multifunctionality and exclusive ingredients as the core standards
- Pragmatism is prevalent, with Tier 1 city and high-income prestige skincare consumers emphasising efficacy over emotional value
- Graph 17: proportion of consumers focusing only on high efficacy, by monthly household income and city tier, 2024
- These pragmatists are willing to try potent formulas for high efficacy
- Graph 18: attitudes towards the efficacy and mildness of ingredients, by attitude towards the efficacy of prestige skincare products, 2024
- Graph 19: willingness to spend on cosmetic surgery projects and prestige skincare, by attitude towards the efficacy of prestige skincare, 2024
- Addressing multiple issues and brand-exclusive patented ingredients are the most recognised high-efficacy traits
- Graph 20: features of high-efficacy products, 2024
- Merely emphasising high concentration, independently developed technology and academic research results yields poor dissemination
- Women aged 30-39 with high household income are particularly convinced by proprietary ingredients
- Graph 21: groups that consider using brand exclusive patented ingredients important and are willing to pay a premium for it, by age, 2024
- Graph 22: groups that consider using brand exclusive patented ingredients important and are willing to pay a premium for it, by monthly household income, 2024
- Patented ingredient formulations have become an arms race for brands
- Graph 23: skincare ingredient and formulation-related patents published, 2020-24
- Graph 24: top 10 institutions holding granted patents related to skincare ingredients and formulations, 2024
- The acceptance of domestic brands continues to rise, and product strength is the key to success
- Consumers’ acceptance of domestic prestige brands continues to increase
- Graph 25: brand type of prestige skincare products bought, 2023-24
- Foreign brands are becoming more popular among consumers aged 25-29, 50-59, and in Tier 3 or lower cities
- Graph 26: profile of consumers choosing ‘mostly foreign brands with few domestic brands’, March 2024 vs November 2024
- The popularity of domestic brands is increasing among consumers aged 18-24, those with low to middle income and residents of Tier 1 cities
- Graph 27: profile of consumers choosing ‘mostly domestic brands with few foreign brands’, March 2024 vs November 2024
- 18-39 year olds, high-income earners and Shanghai residents are more willing to try emerging niche brands
- Graph 28: attitudes towards emerging niche brands, 2024
- Graph 29: profile of consumers willing to try emerging niche prestige brands, 2024
- The key directions for the appreciation of domestic brands are product efficacy, user experience and quality
- Graph 30: premiumisation opportunities for domestic prestige skincare brands, 2024
- Catering to the demand of high-end consumers for offline experiences, domestic brands are actively tapping into physical store potential
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Issues and insights
- Offer more flexible and diverse prestige product choices, taking into account practicality and high perceived value
- The budget for prestige skincare consumption is tightening globally
- Launching limited edition products has become a means to attract consumers
- Flexible and versatile choices – mini sets
- Capture high willingness-to-pay groups: prestige brands can accelerate their entry into the cosmetic surgery+ sector and the integration of beauty and medical devices
- SkinCeuticals leads the way in cosmetic surgery injections
- Multiple cosmetics brands have launched medical-device-grade wound dressings
- Clinical-grade ingredients appeal to the cosmetic surgery consumer group
- With proprietary ingredients as a moat, enhance brand narrative and prestige brand image
- Exclusive patents and cutting-edge research achievements support the use of rare ingredients
- Empower ingredient innovation using AI
- Leverage AI technology in the industry upstream to facilitate innovation
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Appendix – methodology and abbreviations
- Methodology
- Abbreviations
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