Beauty Retailing - US - January 2015
Scope and Themes 
 
What you need to know
Total US retail sales of beauty products reached $38.1 billion in 2014, or an increase of nearly 2% from 2013. Sales are expected to grow slowly but steadily through 2019 to $42.5 billion, or 12% higher versus 2014. This growth is being fueled by consumers’ routine purchasing behavior in the beauty category as well as growing populations of key demographic groups – namely women and Hispanics. Men, though, are influencing the market to a greater degree as well, as they invest more time and money in beauty products. Furthermore, online and mobile shopping have provided easier access to beauty products and allowed for greater convenience when shopping for these, while the proliferation of social media has given consumers another way to research products and/or learn about new trends.

This report focuses on the shopping experience for beauty products and provides a detailed exploration of consumers’ attitudes, usage, and shopping behaviors in this category.

Definition
This report builds on the analysis presented in Mintel’s reports: Shopping for Beauty Products – US, December 2013; Beauty Retailing – US, April 2011 and the previous report from March 2010; as well as Beauty Online – US, December 2012.

This report looks at the entire retail experience where shopping for items in the beauty category is concerned. The primary focus will be based on the results of Mintel’s exclusive consumer research.

For the purposes of this report, Mintel defines the beauty category as including: color cosmetics, facial skincare, body care, haircare, nail care, women’s fragrances, men’s fragrances, hair accessories, sun protection products, and beauty appliances (hair and skin).

Value figures throughout this report are at retail selling prices (rsp) excluding sales tax unless otherwise stated.

Data sources
Sales data
The total retail sales data found in the Market Size and Forecast and Segment Performance section is based on Information Resources, Inc. InfoScan Reviews; US Census Bureau, Economic Census; Progressive Grocer’s Consumer Expenditure Study and forecasts developed by Mintel.

Total market size figures for 2009-14 are based on figures published in recent Mintel reports covering Nail Color and Care; Soap, Bath, and Shower Products; Shampoo, Conditioners, and Styling Products; Facial Skincare; Body Care; Color Cosmetics; Sun Protection and Sunless Tanners; and Fragrances. Forecasts for 2015-19 shown here may differ from the summed total of the individual reports referenced due to differences in variables used when modeling the total beauty market. Hair accessories and beauty devices are not included in this market size or forecast.

Consumer survey data
For the purposes of this report, Mintel commissioned exclusive consumer research through GMI to explore the attitudes and shopping behaviors of budget shoppers. Mintel was responsible for the survey design, data analysis, and reporting. Fieldwork was conducted Nov. 3-12, 2014, among a sample of 2,000 adults aged 18+ with access to the internet.

Mintel selects survey respondents so that they are proportionally balanced to the entire US adult population based on the key demographics of gender, age, household income, and region. Mintel also slightly oversamples, relative to the population, respondents that are Hispanic or Black to ensure an adequate representation of these groups in the survey results. Please note that Mintel surveys are conducted online and in English only. Hispanics who are not online and/or do not speak English are not included in the survey results.

Mintel has also analyzed data from Experian Marketing Services, using the Simmons National Hispanic Consumer Study (NHCS). The Experian Marketing Services, Simmons NHCS was carried out during August 2013-September 2014 and the results are based on the sample of 26,053 adults aged 18+, with results weighted to represent the US adult population.

While race and Hispanic origin are separate demographic characteristics, Mintel often compares them to each other. Please note that the responses for race (White, Black, Asian, Native American, or other race) will overlap those that also are Hispanic, because Hispanics can be of any race.

In addition to quantitative consumer research, Mintel also conducted an online discussion group among a demographically mixed group of 21 adults aged 18+. This discussion group was asynchronous (ie, not run in real time), functioning like a blog or bulletin board, with questions remaining posted for a predetermined period of time. This method allows participants to respond reflectively at their leisure or to log off to think about any issues raised, and return later to respond. Participants were recruited from GMI’s online consumer panel. All quotes are included verbatim, and as such, include typos and other grammatical errors as they originally appeared.

Direct marketing creative
All estimated mail volume data and consumer direct mail marketing creatives are provided by Mintel Comperemedia.

Mintel Comperemedia is a searchable competitive database tracking direct mail, print, and online advertising in the US and Canada, as well as email in the US. Comperemedia tracks information across eight sectors: Banking, Credit Card, Investments, Insurance, Mortgage and Loan, Telecom, Travel and Leisure, Retail and Automotive.

For more information, please contact Account Services Management at 1.312.450.6353 or www.mintel.com.

Abbreviations and terms
Abbreviations
The following is a list of abbreviations used in this report:

CPI 	Consumer Price Index	
DPI 	Disposable Personal Income	
GWP
HHI 	Gifts with purchaseHousehold Income	
NHCS 	National Hispanic Consumer Study (Experian Marketing Services)	
NRF 	National Retail Federation	
YOY 	Year-over-year	

Terms
Generations are discussed within this report, and they are defined as:

World War II/ Swing generation 	Members of the WWII generation were born in 1932 or before and are aged 83 or older in 2015. Members of the Swing Generation were born between 1933 and 1945 and are aged 70-82 in 2015.	
Baby Boomers 	The generation born between 1946 and 1964. In 2015, Baby Boomers are between the ages of 51 and 69.	
Generation X 	The generation born between 1965 and 1976. In 2015, Gen Xers are between the ages of 39 and 50.	
Millennials* 	The generation born between 1977 and 1994. In 2015, Millennials are between the ages of 21 and 38.	
iGeneration 	The generation born between 1995 and 2007. In 2015, iGens are between the ages of 8 and 20.	
Emerging generation 	The newest generation began in 2008 as the annual number of births declined sharply with the recession. In 2015 members of this as-yet unnamed generation are younger than age 8.	

* Also known as Generation Y or Echo Boomers.

In order to provide an inflation-adjusted price value for markets, Mintel uses the CPI to deflate current prices. The CPI is defined as follows:

CPI 	The Consumer Price Index is a measure of the average change over time in the prices paid by urban consumers for a market basket of consumer goods and services.
The CPI and its components are typically used to adjust other economic series for price changes and to translate these series into inflation-free dollars. Examples of series adjusted by the CPI include retail sales, hourly and weekly earnings, and components of the national income and product accounts. In addition, and in Mintel reports, the CPI is used as a deflator of the value of the consumer’s dollar to find its purchasing power. The purchasing power of the consumer's dollar measures the change in the value to the consumer of goods and services that a dollar will buy at different dates.
The CPI is generally the best measure for adjusting payments to consumers when the intent is to allow consumers to purchase, at today’s prices, a market basket of goods and services equivalent to one that they could purchase in an earlier period. It is also the best measure to use to translate retail sales into real or inflation-free dollars.
Based on Bureau of Labor Statistics definition.