US Personal Care Consumer 2024
£ 3,695 (Excl.Tax)
Report Summary
The personal care product market presents a significant consumer growth opportunity, particularly through the addition of wellness and appearance benefits, emphasizing self-care rituals that go beyond hygienic need. The market remains rather stable at over $55bn in 2024 (+1.4%), thanks to its functional nature. Achieving long-term growth hinges on brands’ ability to tailor assortments to simplicity attitudes, with many not seeing the need for extended routines and some emphasizing eco-conscious value. The winning proposition for brands lies in offering personalized support that has proven efficacy without adding overly time- or cost-consuming behaviors. Brands should avoid profit-driven strategies that compromise safety, instead investing in transparency messaging and ingredient intentionality.
This report looks at the following areas:
- Market context and drivers impacting the personal care market
- Market size and forecast of the US personal care product market
- Innovation and marketing strategies seen in the personal care market
- Understanding time spent across morning, night and daily personal care routines
- Personal care product purchasing behaviors across subcategories
- Reasons for purchase in the last three months including replenishment, appearance support, health benefits and more
- Barriers to purchasing more frequently including cost, simplicity attitudes and safety concerns
- Frequency of personal care behaviors including hand washing, bathing, hairstyling and more
- Attitudes toward skin health, wellness behaviors and long-term benefits
- Attitudes toward safety, claims and ingredients
The market maintains its status thanks to its hygienic focus, but incorporating health and appearance benefits in simple rituals is essential for future success.
Carson Kitzmiller, Senior Analyst, Beauty & Personal Care
Market Definitions
The market size for this report is summed estimates from published personal care reports:
- Facial Skincare – April 2024
- Suncare and Skin Protection – Jan 2024
- Shampoo, Conditioner, and Hairstyling – March 2024
- Home Hair Color – Feb 2023
- Bodycare and Deodorant – May 2024
- Soap, Bath, and Shower Products – Feb 2024
- Oral Health – June 2023
- Shaving and Hair Removal – July 2024
This report covers a broad range of products within the personal care market. For the purposes of this Report, Mintel has defined the personal care market as products used for regular grooming and hygiene including the following categories:
- Haircare – shampoo, conditioner, hairstyling products and hair color
- Skincare – facial cleansers, facial moisturizers, specialty skincare products such as acne and anti-aging treatments, hand and body moisurizers, sun protection
- Body cleansing products – bar soap, liquid shower gel, bath products
- Shaving products
- Antiperspirants/deodorants
- Oral care
Excluded from the scope of the Report are beauty products such as:
- Color cosmetics
- Fragrances
- Nail color and care
- Professional services are also excluded from the scope of this Report.
Table of Contents
-
Executive Summary
- What you need to know
- Market size & forecast
- Market predictions
- What consumers want & why
- Opportunities
-
Market Dynamics
- Market context
- Annual inflation sits at 2.9% as of July, the lowest it has been since March 2021
- Graph 1: headline CPI and shelter CPI, 2021-24
- Consumer sentiment remains down, but is expected to rebound soon
- Graph 2: consumer sentiment index, 2022-24
- Nearly 40% of consumers have seen their financial situations change for the better in the past year
- Graph 3: change in financial situation over the past 12 months, 2024
- Households' outlooks on their personal finances remains bullish
- Graph 4: opinions on financial future, 2024
- Graph 5: income growth in the past 12 months, by financial outlook, 2024
- Market drivers
- Eco and ethical positioning continues to grow across personal care
- Graph 6: new product launches with ethical and environmental claims, 2018-23
- Eco-friendly packaging leads the charge
- Tween/teen usage
- Graph 7: usage of select BPC categories, by gender and age, 2024
- Social media presence is key for teen discovery
- Graph 8: sources of BPC knowledge, 2024
- "Treat" mentalities in BPC seen across HHIs
- Graph 9: treating themself as a reason for personal care purchase in the last three months, by household income, 2024
- Lines blur between wellness and personal care
- Market size and forecast
- Retail sales and forecast of personal care products
- Retail sales and forecast of personal care products, at current prices, 2019-29
- Retail sales and forecast of personal care products, at inflation-adjusted prices, 2019-29
- US: average annual household spending on the personal care products, 2019-24
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Innovation and Marketing strategies
- Private label emphasizes the importance of budget-friendly alternatives
- Tackle age-appropriate narratives
- Skincare inspiration for bug repellents
- Holistic approach to sun protection: Duette
- Cellulite support seen across personal care formats
- 'Inflammaging' and aging: Deinde
- Kiehl's beautifies taboo intimate care for Gen Z
- Customization in mass: bodycare + fragrance
- Customization in mass: hair cycling collections
-
Consumer Insights
- Consumer fast facts
- Length of routines
- Average personal care routine spans 40 minutes per day
- Graph 10: time spent on personal care routine, by AM and PM routines, 2024
- Graph 11: average minutes per day spent on routine, 2024
- Tailor personalized support to maximize engagement
- Graph 12: total average time spent on personal care routine per day (morning and night), by gender and generation, 2024
- Finances and time investments likely not correlated
- Graph 13: average time spent per day on personal care routine, by financial situation, 2024
- Personal care product purchasing
- Older females drive more extensive product-type purchasing
- Graph 14: repertoire of personal care product purchasing, 2024
- Personal care purchasing stagnant across subcategories
- Graph 15: personal care product purchasing in the last 12 months, 2021-24
- Moisturization solutions drive extended routines
- Graph 16: personal care product purchasing in the last 12 months, by average minutes spent per day on personal care routine, 2024
- Men aged 18-34 lean into facial skincare
- Graph 17: facial skincare product purchasing in the last 12 months, men aged 18-34, 2022-24
- Prioritize safety messaging for Millennials
- Graph 18: personal care product purchasing in the last 12 months, Millennials (1980-1996), 2023-24
- Entice young consumers with next-level APDO benefits
- Graph 19: deodorant/antiperspirant purchase in the last 12 months, by gender and age, 2024
- Reasons for purchase in the last three months
- Replenishment drives older users, younger users look to support appearance and health
- Graph 20: reasons for personal care purchasing in the last three months, 2024
- Tap into the passive benefits associated with sleep health
- Graph 21: purchase drivers in the last three months, by repertoire of personal care product usage, 2024
- Topical body lotions enhance the sleep experience
- Speak to sizing, logistics and cost for those focused on restock
- Graph 22: reasons for personal care purchasing in the last 3 months, by minutes spent per day on personal care routine, 2024
- Barriers to purchare more often
- Simplicity and cost top reasons for purchase obstacles
- Graph 23: reasons why users don't purchase personal care products more often, by time spent per day on personal care routine, 2024
- Tackle simplicity attitudes differently for different age groups
- Graph 24: select reasons for not purchasing personal care products more often, by females of select generations, 2024
- Ingredient narratives: safety and effectiveness must go hand-in-hand
- Graph 25: not purchasing more often because of concerns about toxins/chemicals, Millennials, 2024
- Encourage male purchase through guided support
- Graph 26: select reasons for not buying personal care more often, by men aged 18-34, 2024
- Frequency of personal care routine behaviors
- Basic hygiene practices from a majority of adults, body hygiene vastly individualized
- Graph 27: frequency of select personal care routines, 2024
- Merchandise body hygiene products by differentiated shower routines
- Graph 28: frequency of select personal care routine behaviors, females aged 18-34, 2024
- Social media content a must for personal care brands
- Graph 29: engaging with personal care content on social media at least daily (NET – more than once a day or once a day), by generation, 2024
- Graph 30: Engaging with personal care content on social media at least daily (NET – more than once a day or once a day), by social media sites visited daily, 2024
- 'Showertok' on social media continues to drive differentiated hygiene routines
- Connect skin health and SPF to build trust in daily use
- Graph 31: frequency of applying SPF (NET- Ever do, at least daily), by average total minutes per day spent on personal care routine, 2024
- Prime opportunities in scalp and hair treatments
- Graph 32: frequency of use of hair/scalp treatments (NET – at least daily), by race and generation, 2024
- Take an 'ageless' and preventative approach to scalp care and hair loss
- Skin health attitudes
- Emphasize luxury in at-home routines
- Graph 33: using personal care routine as a way to de-stress, by financial situation, 2024
- Simplify rituals, maximize results
- Graph 34: skin health attitudes, by gender and generation, 2024
- Longevity support builds long-term customers
- Graph 35: looking for products with long-term appearance benefits, by generation, 2024
- Graph 36: looking for products with long-term appearance benefits, by select race or ethnicity, 2024
- Embrace the merging of personal care, wellness and beauty
- Graph 37: wellness behaviors, by repertoire of personal care product purchasing, 2024
- Food, wellness, and skin health together
- Attitudes toward safety, claims and ingredients
- Safety concerns widespread: regulation, simplicity, toxins
- Get ahead of safety messaging
- Graph 38: attitudes toward brand/product trust and safety (selected AGREE), by gender and generation, 2024
- Sensitive skin messaging and expert validation is table stakes
- Innovate on-pack ingredient messaging
- Graph 39: looking at ingredient lists in facial skincare products, not other personal care products, by total average time spent per day on personal care routine (those who selected AGREE), 2024
- Elevate expert-recommended claims: allergist/immunologist
- Eco-friendly and ethical attributes have impact, particularly among people of color
- Graph 40: eco-friendly and ethically-sourced attitudes, by select race or ethnicity, 2024
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Appendix
- Market definition
- Consumer research questions
- Consumer research methodology
- Generations
- Abbreviations and terms
- Forecast methodology
- Forecast fan chart methodology
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