Personal wellness encompasses a variety of categories, blending health, beauty, and hygiene. For 69% of shoppers, these products are part of daily rituals. Frequent replenishment cycles establish routine shopping habits, motivating shoppers to buy online, especially to save money. In terms of product selection, online wellness shoppers prioritize key details, such as usage instructions, ingredients, brand information, and consumer reviews.
For brands and marketers, this means offering easy access to comprehensive product information is essential. Shoppers need transparency to make informed choices, and clear messaging around brand values should be integrated without overshadowing product details. By blending convenience with the right information and options for replenishment, brands can build customer loyalty and effectively engage wellness shoppers online.
Moving forward, technology will increasingly simplify online shopping for personal wellness. AI will drive personalized product development and help brands analyze shopping behavior to enhance engagement and conversions. Advanced ecommerce platforms will streamline access to products, a key factor in the purchasing journey—especially in wellness categories that involve daily use or require discretion.
This report looks at the following areas:
- Incidence of recent online purchases by product category and type
- Top rationales driving online personal wellness purchases, as well as barriers for not buying online
- Discovering where online shoppers typically get information about personal wellness products/brand purchases
- Social media sites used to learn more about personal wellness
- Types of information shoppers look for when shopping for personal wellness products online
- Attitudes toward purchasing personal wellness items online, including product discovery, product preferences, subscription services, sampling, and customer service interaction
Personal wellness products are integral to daily routines, with shoppers prioritizing convenience, product/brand transparency, and price when shopping online.
Vince DiGirolamo, Director, North America Reports
Market Definitions
This report is aimed at exploring consumers’ behaviors and attitudes related to shopping online for wellness-related items. Some of types of products that will be explored include vitamins/supplements, intimate hygiene/sanitary products, over-the-counter medicine, health and wellness tools/equipment, sexual wellness, and other beauty/personal care items.
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
- What you need to know
- Market predictions
- What consumers want & why
- Opportunities
- Opportunities to engage online personal wellness shoppers
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MARKET DYNAMICS
- Market context
- Market drivers
- The US expanded by 2.8% in Q3 2024
- Graph 1: quarterly real GDP growth, 2021-24
- Annual inflation slightly rose in October
- Graph 2: headline CPI and core CPI, 2021-24
- Consumer sentiment rebounds after a number of months on the slide
- Graph 3: consumer sentiment index, 2022-24
- Over 40% of consumers have seen their financial situations change for the better in the past year
- Graph 4: change in financial situation over the past 12 months, 2024
- Households’ outlooks on their personal finances remains bullish
- Graph 5: income growth in the past 12 months, by financial outlook, 2024
- Graph 6: opinions on financial future, 2024
- Financial status has minimal impact when shopping for personal wellness online
- Graph 7: categories of personal wellness products purchased online, by financial status, 2024
- Graph 8: incidence of personal wellness products purchased online, by financial status, 2024
- Younger generations influence category and online shopping experience
- Graph 9: incidence of personal wellness products purchased online, by generation, 2024
- Shifts in population by generation
- Technology shapes the online shopping journey as eCommerce continues to grow
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CONSUMER INSIGHTS
- Consumer fast facts
- Consumer fast facts cont.
- Personal wellness products purchased online
- Online shopping for personal wellness products achieves widespread engagement
- Daily use wellness items receive strongest engagement among online shoppers
- Graph 10: categories of personal wellness products purchased online, 2024
- Majority of online shoppers buy vitamins and personal care items
- Graph 11: types of personal wellness products purchased online, 2024
- Gen Z and Millennials more likely to buy intimate personal care and sexual wellness items online
- Graph 12: categories of personal wellness products purchased online, by generation, 2024
- Parents over index in buying all categories of personal wellness online
- Graph 13: categories of personal wellness products purchased online, by parental status, 2024
- Hispanic shoppers have strong engagement across categories
- Graph 14: categories of personal wellness products purchased online, by race/Hispanic origin, 2024
- Rationales for online purchases of wellness items
- Convenience drives online shopping for personal wellness
- Graph 15: rationales for buying personal wellness products online, 2024
- Gen X and Boomers shop online for convenience and price
- Graph 16: rationales for buying personal wellness products online, by generation, 2024
- Parents are more inclined to have a subscription service for personal wellness
- Graph 17: rationales for buying personal wellness products online, by parental status, 2024
- Shopping online for intimate hygiene and sexual wellness items allows for discretion
- Graph 18: rationales for buying personal wellness products online, by category, 2024
- Barriers to purchasing wellness items online
- Price- and convenience-related factors stifle online shopping of personal wellness products
- Graph 19: barriers to purchasing wellness products online, 2024
- Shoppers may not wait for personal care items needed immediately
- Graph 20: barriers to purchasing wellness products online, by category, 2024
- Information sources for personal wellness products
- Family and friends are a primary source of information for personal wellness products/brands
- Graph 21: information sources, 2024
- Gen Z rely less on family/friends and more on social media
- Graph 22: information sources, by generation, 2024
- Multicultural shoppers most likely to seek out information from social media
- Graph 23: information sources, by race/Hispanic origin, 2024
- Social media is a source of information on personal wellness for parents
- Graph 24: information sources, by parental status, 2024
- Shoppers seek information about intimate personal care items by going online
- Graph 25: information sources, by product category, 2024
- Shoppers turn to family/friends for info on OTC medicine
- Graph 26: information sources for OTC medication, 2024
- Social media information sources
- YouTube and Facebook are leading social media sites used for personal wellness information
- Graph 27: social media information sources for personal wellness products/brands, 2024
- Generations skew towards preferred social platforms
- Graph 28: social media information sources for personal wellness products/brands, by generation, 2024
- Desired information when shopping for personal wellness
- Shoppers go online for detailed product information
- Graph 29: desired information when shopping for personal wellness online, 2024
- Younger generations seek information about brand values and initiatives
- Graph 30: desired information when shopping for personal wellness online, by generation, 2024
- Parents look for sustainability and brand initiatives
- Graph 31: desired information when shopping for personal wellness online, by parental status, 2024
- Shoppers seek expert reviews for intimate personal wellness items
- Graph 32: desired information when shopping for personal wellness online, by product category, 2024
- OTC medicines require shoppers to do their due diligence
- Graph 33: OTC medicine shoppers’ desired information when shopping for personal wellness online, 2024
- Attitudes toward shopping for personal wellness online
- Personal wellness products are daily use items
- Shoppers think it’s easier to explore personal wellness options online
- Graph 34: attitudes toward shopping personal wellness items online, 2024
- Millennials are passionate about subscription services and DTC personal wellness brands
- Graph 35: attitudes toward shopping personal wellness items online, by generation, 2024
- Parents have strong opinions about shopping personal wellness products online
- Graph 36: attitudes toward shopping personal wellness items online, by parental status, 2024
- Subscription services and DTC products are attractive to the multicultural shopper
- Graph 37: attitudes towards shopping personal wellness items online, by race/Hispanic origin, 2024
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INNOVATION AND MARKETING STRATEGIES
- Launch activity and innovation
- Ingredients matter in personal wellness: focus on natural/organic
- Personal wellness shoppers prefer sustainable products
- Competitive strategies
- AI tools personalize the online shopping experience for personal wellness
- Amazon launches Rufus, an AI-powered conversational shopping experience
- Google Chrome launches tab compare
- Sampling assuages trepidation when shopping online
- Sephora website allows members to trial various makeup, skincare, hair, and fragrance
- Subscription services provide convenient replenishments
- Customized Elo Smart Gummies offered on subscription
- DTC provide high quality, personalized wellness products
- DTC company Zebra prioritizes ingredients in personal wellness
- Social media is fertile ground for personal wellness product discovery
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APPENDIX
- Market definition
- Consumer research questions
- Consumer research methodology
- Generations
- Abbreviations and terms
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