Observations in Personal Care part 4: Adding Value
By PDD
on July 9 2012
Changes in the emerging markets, shifts in global consumerism and our insatiable desire to look and feel our best makes the personal care sector a very interesting place to be. We have identified some key trends and themes that are impacting the way we’re going to buy and apply personal care products in the future.
Financial focus is fuelling the growth of personal care devices that are adding value to the home grooming experience
The global financial crisis has re-tuned the way consumers in the West are thinking about spending. Constant peripheral talk of budget cuts and losses have led to a huge decrease in consumer confidence. Impulsive spending habits have been replaced with considered and calculated purchasing decisions.
Indulgent spending (in the main) is generally being side-lined and consumers are looking for alternative ways of achieving their pre-recession personal care habits. For many, (women in particular) personal care and grooming is a non-negotiable activity with the purchasing of cosmetics and moisturising creams being prioritised alongside the weekly staples. Consumers are now moving away from costly professional treatments and investing in home solutions.
Featured image credit: L’oreal. Above image credit: beforethebigday.co.uk
The last 18 months have seen a dramatic emergence of in-home personal care devices entering the market in multiple global regions. The Western approach views skin care and cleansing to be of a high priority, whereas more extreme beauty ideals in Asia prescribe the need for harsher, more cosmetic focused devices.
Although consumer cautiousness is on the increase, the desire for long-lasting, reliable and good quality home solutions is on the rise. This mind set is exemplified in other markets such as the coffee sector.
The recent rise in sales of premium coffees such as Lavazza and the explosion of Nespresso, where consumers still strive for the best coffee experience at home without paying Starbucks and Costa Coffee prices for the pleasure. As with coffee, consumers are focused on getting the same quality of performance and results from in-home personal care products as they would expect from the salon or spa.
Image credit: Lavazza
The personal care device market was worth an estimated $1 billion in 2011 and the global fascination with celebrity culture and outward appearance will continue to drive the trend for these in-home personal care and grooming experiences.
As consumers want more from their products how are traditional FMCG companies going to approach delivering personal care devices to ‘product aware’ consumers who are used to the high quality offerings from the likes of Apple, Sony and Nike in other areas of their life? Where is the future of adding value for this sector and what can we learn from other sectors’ strategic models?
#PDDPersonalCare, @pddinnovation with your thoughts and opinions.
Read more…
Observations in Personal Care part 1: Adding Performance