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British consumers, particularly women, feel the pressure to look good is greater than in their parent’s generation according to a new survey released by Nielsen this week. The British survey results, which form part of the Nielsen Global Beauty Survey, have highlighted that 80% of women feel a pressure to look good with around two thirds of men (64%) also agreeing that they feel the same pressures. In total 70% of people feel that the pressure to look good now is much greater than it was for previous generations.
Eleni Nicholas, Group Managing Director of ACNielsen UK & Ireland commented, “We are constantly bombarded with images of beautiful people. It is telling that 8 out of ten women feel that the pressure upon them to look good is greater than it was for their mothers. The survey also highlights that impressionable youngsters feel the most pressure.” 84% of under 20’s think the pressure to look good is greater for them than it was for their parents.
Younger Consumers Invest in Beauty to Feel Good and Attract Partners
Motivations differ when it comes to beauty regimes with 75% of women saying that personal grooming makes them feel better about themselves as opposed to 45% of men. Again, in general more younger respondents than average said they invest in personal grooming in order to feel better about themselves (66% of under 20s and 70% of 21-29 year olds.)
When asked, just over half of all respondents said they invest in grooming to look good for a partner – once more the younger care more here. A quarter of respondents said they invest in grooming to attract a partner with a massive 60% of under 20s and 50% of those 20-24 preening and primping themselves to attract a partner.
“Though they have the benefit of time on their side it seems that the inexperience which youth brings makes for a rather self conscious, appearance focused group - a perfect target market for the beauty industry.” Added Ms Nicholls.
Despite these pressures however, it appears we do like to relax our appearance with only 37% of British saying they try to look stylish at all times. However, 50% more women than men say they always try to look stylish. Older consumers appear more confident in themselves here with just over 30% of those aged 50+ making the effort to look stylish at all times. For comparison 47% of respondents globally said they try to look stylish at all times and in the top country, Brazil, 75% of respondents said they did.
OK For Men to Spend on Personal Grooming!
Looking good and being stylish need not mean greater investment because less than 30% of consumers say they are spending much more than they used to on beauty products. More men than average (35%) agreed that they spend to a greater extent than ever on beauty products and treatments with older people once again seemingly confident in their appearance - only 12% of over 55’s said they invest more now in beauty than previously. Contrary to this, younger generations do with almost half of under 20’s professing to spend more than ever on beauty products and treatments.
“From expensive luxurious brands, spa weekends and even cosmetic surgery to entry level supermarket products and home spa kits beauty is now accessible to all,” Observed Ms Nicholas. She continued, “Once the domain of department stores and beauty salons – health and beauty is now one of the key growth areas within supermarkets. Heavy investment by retailers here means that people can now pick up their facial moisturiser with their weekly food shop.”
89% of people say that men are more interested in personal grooming than they used to be biased towards younger age groups. And most agree that it is OK for men to spend time and money enhancing their appearance – particular bias towards 35-49 year olds where 94% agree.
About The Nielsen Company
The Nielsen Company is a global information and media company with leading market positions and recognized brands in marketing information (ACNielsen), media information (Nielsen Media Research), business publications (Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, Adweek) and trade shows. The privately held company has more than 42,000 employees and is active in more than 100 countries, with headquarters in Haarlem, the Netherlands, and New York, USA.
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