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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
- What you need to know
- Market size and forecast
- Market predictions
- Recommendations
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MARKET DYNAMICS
- Market context
- Annual inflation held steady in July, but the full impact has yet to be captured
- Graph 1: headline CPI and core CPI, 2021-25
- Retail sales remain strong, but tariff-driven price hikes will test the spending resilience of consumers amid the incoming holiday season
- Graph 2: retail sales, 2024-25
- Consumer sentiment dipped as near-term inflation expectations worsen
- Graph 3: Consumer sentiment index, 2022-23
- Market drivers
- After a lag, tariffs filter through BPC consumer prices
- Major and niche personal care companies warn audiences of price increases
- End of de minimis exemptions challenge the growth of foreign beauty products
- Graph 4: shopping for or research on foreign facial skincare brands (eg K-Beauty), 2025
- Protectionist trade at a global scale may further disrupt supply chains
- Beyond MoCRA enforcement: federal and state legislative efforts highlight the growing public demand for ingredient safety
- Ongoing research links climate change directly to personal health and prevention narratives
- Market size and forecast
- Market definition and scope
- Retail sales and forecast of the personal care market
- Graph 5: market size and forecast of the personal care market, 2019-30
- Retail sales and forecast of personal care market
- Retail sales and forecast of personal care market, inflation-adjusted
- Household spending on personal care products
- Graph 6: average annual household spending on personal care products, 2019-25
- Graph 7: % change in annual household spending on personal care products, 2019-25
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INNOVATION AND MARKETING STRATEGIES
- Longevity claims buzz as major players’ R&D investments pay off
- “Skinification” evolves to “facial grade” ingredient claims
- Multi-product fragrance routines continue to bolster usage and trial
- Graph 8: fragrance use by sub-category, 2024
- Capitalize on “comfort capital” to add perceived value of everyday essentials
- Speak to men’s unique self-improvement aspirations and values
- Get ahead of new approaches to personalization
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CONSUMER INSIGHTS
- Consumer fast facts
- Personal care purchases and spending intentions
- Oral hygiene and body cleansing remain core to personal care routines
- Graph 9: personal care purchases, past 12 months, by gender, 2025
- Suncare and skincare capture spending priorities
- Graph 10: current spend and spending intentions, by category, 2025
- Overview of high spend categories: women 55+ drive facial skincare
- Graph 11: current and future intent to spend more on facial skincare, by gender and age, 2025
- Women 35 and older drive investment in elevated sun protection
- Graph 12: current and future intent to spend more on suncare, by gender and age, 2025
- “Skinification” fuels the demand for premium products
- Graph 13: current and future high spend by current and future high spend in select categories, 2025
- Total bodycare concept creates a boom for multiple categories
- Graph 14: current low spend and future high spend, by generation, 2025
- Spotlight on premiumizing categories: hair and scalp care gain mainstream attention
- Graph 15: current and future intent to spend more on haircare, by gender and age, 2025
- Oral care is evolving with wellness and beauty priorities
- Graph 16: current and future intent to spend more on oral care, by gender and age, 2025
- Value-driven shopping for personal care
- Budgetary shopping encompasses a wide variety of tactics
- Graph 17: trade-down behaviors when shopping for personal care, 2025
- Consumers with healthy finances will be reluctant to trade down
- Graph 18: trade-down behaviors, by financial situation, 2025
- Expect Gen X and older to be most motivated by sticker price
- Graph 19: trade-down behaviors, by generation, 2025
- Younger consumers will need reassurance on value
- Cadences of personal care engagement
- Motivations for personal care have diversified for most categories beyond basic hygiene
- Preventative aspirations can drive higher category investments
- Graph 20: personal care cadences, by category, 2025
- Younger demographics shift the focus away from hygiene
- Key categories can tap into mood enhancement benefits
- Graph 21: top anti-stress and mood-boosting categories, adults aged 18-44, 2025
- Experimental users crave novelty even from functionally rooted categories
- Graph 22: experimental cadences within categories, all vs 18-44, 2025
- Purchase factors: hygiene and health maintainence
- Gentle claims and clean ingredients are top factors for hygiene-motivated purchases
- Graph 23: purchase factors for personal care products purchased for health and hygiene, ranked, 2025
- Younger shoppers redefine “clean” to reflect their priorities
- Graph 24: select purchase factors for personal care used for hygiene and health, any rank, by gender and age, 2025
- Black women prioritize personalization for hygiene and appearance
- Graph 25: Personalization as top factor for personal care used for health and hygiene, any rank, by gender and race, 2025
- Purchase factors: appearance and treatment
- Appearance-enhancing products must work on multiple fronts
- Graph 26: purchase factors for personal care purchased for appearance enhancement and treatment, ranked, 2025
- Women aged 55+ place greater emphasis on efficacy and evidence
- Graph 27: purchase factors for personal care products purchased for improving appearance, any rank, all vs women 55+, 2025
- For many consumers, it’s about both the journey and the destination
- Graph 28: appealing experience as top factor for personal care purchased for improving appearance, by gender and age, 2025
- For young men, the experts are influencers and peers on social media
- Graph 29: select purchase factors for appearance-improving personal care, by gender and age, 2025
- Attitudes and behaviors: navigating personal care amid uncertainty
- Speak to anxieties around price increases
- Graph 30: stocking up on products in anticipation of price increases, by generation, 2025
- Make the connection between environment and personal care
- Made in USA labelling appeals to young White consumers
- Graph 31: plans to buy products made in the USA, by age and race, 2025
- Values-oriented communication most risks alienating young White men
- Graph 32: boycotting personal care products, all vs White men aged 18-44, 2025
- Niche, creator-led brands cater to men looking for alternatives
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APPENDIX
- Additional Reports of interest
- Consumer research questions
- Consumer research methodology
- Bases: current spend and spending intentions
- Bases: personal care cadences
- Generations
- Abbreviations and terms
- Forecast methodology
- Forecast fan chart methodology
Resilience continues to define the US personal care market in 2025. Despite growing economic uncertainties, strong wage growth and healthy retail sales support an estimated market value of over $60 billion. That being said, this resilience will be tested as major BPC players begin to announce price hikes in response to higher input costs, pressuring consumer budgets as inventory reserves deplete.
Notably, 30% of personal care consumers plan to purchase more made-in-USA products, highlighting a notable shift among many toward domestic preferences. In line with this observation, this Report also explores the intersection of personal care preferences with broader socioeconomic trends, including domestic sourcing and values-driven shopping, to offer insight into how brands can align with evolving consumer priorities beyond the cheapest price tag.
Looking ahead, the growth of personal care is poised to be driven by a focus on prevention and mood enhancement, paving the way for products that deliver both functional and emotional benefits. Brands can stand out by prioritizing longevity, science, scent layering and comfort, offering consumers a more enriching and efficacious experience.
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
- Personal care product usage, relative spending habits and future spending intentions
- Consumer attitudes and behaviors toward personal care shopping in light of economic uncertainty
- Cadences and motivations behind personal care product usage
- Purchase factors of personal care products by motivations
Market resilience will be tested under tariff-impacted shopping even as consumer definitions of value in their personal care products broaden.
Joan Li, Senior Analyst, Beauty and Personal Care
Market Definitions
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, hair styling products and hair color
- skincare – facial cleansers, facial moisturizers, specialty skincare products such as acne and anti-ageing treatments, hand and body moisurizers and sun protection
- body cleansing products – bar soap, liquid shower gel, bath products
- shaving products
- antiperspirants/deodorants
- oral care
The following market forecast is the sum of updated market estimates of each individual category. For more on these categories, please refer to the corresponding Reports listed in the Appendix.
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.
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