US consumers splashed out billions of dollars during the country’s widespread lockdown to make sure they looked their best, according to data from research agency Nielsen.
DIY beauty products, such as hair clippers, hair dyes and nail polish were among a number of products to see a spike in sales, both online and in those shops that stayed open for the 12 weeks since the beginning of March, the Financial Times reports. Hairdressers and nail salons were among those businesses that closed during the lockdown.
The health and beauty category during the 12 weeks was up by $3.74 billion to $32.2 billion, or 13%, compared to the same period a year ago. Online sales accounted for the biggest spike, up 31% to $9.28 billion. Sales are thought to have been boosted by the many online influencers who offered health and beauty DIY tips.
Nielsen said while some products related to personal hygiene, such as hand sanitisers, had lifted sales, self-care in cosmetics was a big driver of the spike in sales.
In particular, hair care products were in high demand as highlighting and other hair treatments most often carried out in a salon had to be applied at home. Online sales of hair colouring products were up from $50 million during the same period last year to $128 million, and hair styling products were up 20% to $145 million.
The number of men’s hair clippers sold in stores, meanwhile, was up 53%, to $59 million. And men unwilling to go for a buzz cut were experimenting with in-hair products to try and tame their tresses, researchers found.
Online sales of nail polish more than doubled, from $14 million to $35 million. In stores, sales of both artificial nails and nail polish remover rose about 50% in physical stores, to $109 million and $34 million respectively.
On the other hand, the rise in the use of protective face masks hit lipstick sales, with sales in stores down 42% to $121 million. In-store sales of eye cosmetics, such as eye-shadow and eye liners, were down 26% to $343 million, Nielsen said.
Meanwhile, Adweek reports, separate Nielsen data shows Americans’ adoption of new coffee-drinking habits could hit chains such as Dunkin’ and Starbucks post-pandemic. US consumers bought 20.1% more packaged coffee in the 13-week period to May 30, and ready-to-drink beverages saw year-on-year growth of 15%.
The fact that at least some working from home and online school work was likely to continue into 2021, said Robert Moskow, a senior analyst at Credit Suisse, meant there was a good chance people would continue brewing their own coffee, as opposed to visiting the branch of a coffee chain.
Sourced from Financial Times, AdWeek; additional content by WARC staff
