The UK Skincare Market Is Thriving, Whilst Other Sectors Begin To Struggle

The NPD Group, an American market research company, reported that the prestige beauty market saw a 3% decline year on year, falling to a value of £2.6 billion in 2019. Despite the overall downward trend, skincare saw a 2% rise, reaching an overall value of £605 million.  

The NPD Group, an American market research company, reported that the prestige beauty market saw a year on year decline. Contributing to this decline was the 1% fall in the largest product segment, the £1.3 billion fragrance category. This is a small decline, compared to the once best performing makeup sector, which dropped by 8% to a value of £721 million.

While the entire market saw a decline, with make-up falling sharply, why did the skincare sector thrive? Well, the NPD attributed this to “the return of the natural look”. 

Skin is in, with ‘less is more’ becoming more fashionable among consumers. The heavy contouring look is over. Consumers want products that enhance their natural beauty, rather than products which cover it up. That means subbing heavy foundations and cakey concealers for products like brightening, regenerating oils, hydrating serums and tinted moisturizers. The idea is, if people take care of their skin more, their faces can become more natural, which results in less of a need for cosmetics. People are finding confidence in natural beauty, rather than having to wear their ‘war paint’ to feel confident.

“Natural is a big buzz word in many industries, especially beauty, in terms of product ingredients as well as consumers looking to achieve a more natural look,” said Emma Fishwick, Account Manager, NPD UK Beauty. “How make-up responds to this movement will be key to its revival.”

However, this industry shift is unlikely to remain forever. Historically, there have been cyclical trends in this industry with NPD’s data detecting “a shift between make-up and skincare every four to five years. Based on this, and the slowdown in make-up that began to take hold in 2017, I expect we’ll see make-up rebound in a few years.” 

Another growing trend is the increasing performance of online, which saw a 6% increase in sales in 2019. E-commerce now accounts for 22% of all sales in the prestige beauty market. Online purchasing options are great for customers that would like to re-purchase items they have tried before. However, customers can’t try products online, which is where the high street excels. 

“High street outlets and department stores remain important as prestige beauty relies on a hands-on, consultant-led approach with workshops, sampling, gift-with-purchase and make-up lessons all part of the retail mix,” NPD said. 

Nevertheless, the future is exciting. New augmented reality and artificial intelligence technologies such as L'Oréal’s Modiface, allow customers to see L'Oréal’s products on their live video, directly on their website. This allows customers to play and experiment with lipstick colours, blushers and eyeshadows from the comfort of their own home, with L'Oréal seeing their online conversion rates tripling, as a result of implementing this technology on their site.