As beauty consumers continue to redefine “value”, premiumisation and affordability will continue to be a balancing act between quality and price. Consumers are also becoming more ingredient-savvy, often willing to pay a premium for specific ingredients, rather than relying on general claims. “Longevity” will become the updated term for wellness, as consumers want to look and feel their best for as long as possible. Wellness has started to extend into women’s health, but beauty brands are still exploring how to position themselves in this space. Euromonitor explores, in depth, these four key trends impacting beauty and personal care in 2024 and into 2025.
While global inflation moderated in 2023, consumers are adopting a more deliberate purchasing approach, realising that they need to make the most of their reduced disposable income, limited by elevated prices in necessities. This isn’t equating to reduced consumption. Rather, beauty consumers are trading down in some categories to afford premium options in others.
In 2024, consumers are adopting behaviours to maximise value from beauty and personal care purchases, such as seeking discounts and promotions, utilising rewards points, leveraging social media to uncover deals, and subscribing to “deinfluencers” who expose overhyped products. Rather than simply cutting spending, they seek out dupes – competitively-priced products with perceived benefits comparable to higher-priced items – which has evolved into a signal of savvy, rather than a source of shame, particularly among Generation Z who lack the purchasing power of older generations.
In some markets, price is becoming an increasingly important factor as consumers evaluate trade-offs. The percentage of beauty consumers in China who looked for “lower price” instead of “premium formulations” jumped in 2023 across categories – a trend we expect to continue as China experiences deflation and consumers look for premium formulations at lower prices.
Ingredient-led beauty: Ingredient-specific claims have potential to ask for higher prices
The ingredient-led beauty trend highlights the benefits of specific ingredients and empowers consumers to seek out actives to treat or prevent beauty concerns. As consumers grow increasingly wary of brands, the trend is developing a sustainability focus, looking to understand “greenwashing” natural ingredient claims and to better understand which claims have scientific consensus.
“Probiotic” and “collagen” were first popularised in the supplement and food space before migrating to skin care. In the US, for example, they rose to popularity in facial care, specifically moisturisers and anti-agers, before extending to other categories. Although there are fewer SKUs in the US with those ingredients, they command higher prices compared to more general claims.
Wellness trends drive everyday sun care for skin health benefits
Historically, sun care was primarily designed to shield against UV rays and avoid sunburn. Consumers are looking for products that provide skin care benefits as well as protection.
Ongoing education efforts from the health and beauty industry have successfully changed consumers’ views on sun care, as they increasingly use sun protection year-round, rather than just during specific seasons. About a third (34%) of global consumers used a multi-benefit day cream with SPF on a weekly or regular basis, while a quarter (26%) used a specialised sun protection product in 2023, up from 23% and 16%, respectively, in 2020.
Indonesian company Luxcrime debuted Ultra Fine Sunscreen Spray SPF 50 PA+++ at the end of 2023, which is formulated with aloe vera, green tea extract and niacinamide. According to Euromonitor’s Voice of the Consumer: Beauty Survey, fielded June to July 2023, 33% of Indonesian consumers actively sought out sun protection products in 2023 that improve texture and even skin tone – much higher than the global consumer figure of 13%. This is part of a larger trend towards invisible sunscreens that can take the place of other skin care or colour products.
Rising demand for women's health products boosts hair growth market
The past decade has seen a push among female consumers to better understand how hormonal changes during life stages impact skin and hair. According to Euromonitor’s Voice of the Consumer: Beauty Survey, from 2019 to 2023, the percentage of female respondents seeking skin care suitable for hormonal fluctuations increased among all age groups.
Consumer awareness of hormones’ impact is higher in skin care than in hair care, due to the success of public health initiatives, high-profile research studies, and well-known skin care brands. However, interest is growing in specialised hair care. Products like Germany-based Plantur 39 Phyto-Caffeine Made for You 3-Step System are useful for any consumer experiencing dry, brittle hair, with the focus of communication around women’s wellness, cementing its position as being “for women experiencing thinning hair due to menopause”.
Predictions for 2024 and 2025
While inflation normalises, consumer pricing sensitivity will remain, resulting in consumers’ continuation of altered habits. Euromonitor expects mass, masstige, and entry-level premium brands to continue seizing market share while consumers re-evaluate quality and price.
Consumers are looking to ingredients to make the most out of their beauty purchases. Beauty brands should consider a portfolio with a range of formulas, enabling the consumer to tailor their routines for different occasions and results. Longer term, biotechnology innovation will play a much larger role in ingredient sourcing.
Beauty brands in the wellness space should emphasise preventative solutions, especially when catering to younger consumers, while brands catering to any age group may consider category extensions across beauty products, vitamins/supplements, foods to support a healthy diet and mental wellness.
The foundation for women’s health will need to be first established in consumer health before it takes on more specific direction in beauty and personal care. Innovation in hair loss and hair thinning will continue to trend upward, as well as there being an increased presence of collagen by need states.
Learn more about these trends in our report, Top Trends Shaping the Beauty and Personal Care Industry, to gain insights from case studies and see our predictions for the forecast period.
Learn more about the 2023 performance of the beauty and personal care industry in our report, World Market for Beauty and Personal Care, to identify opportunities and prospects in beauty by geography and category.