US Prestige skin care market set for rebound

By Simon Pitman

- Last updated on GMT

Related tags Prestige skin care Marketing Market research

Following a bumpy ride during the economic recession, the US market for prestige skin care is set to make up most of the lost ground, according to an NPD market report.

According to the market research company the market for prestige skin care grew by 7 per cent in the first half of 2010 to reach a value of $1.29bn, compared to the figure for 2009, when sales fell by a similar amount on account of falling consumer spend due to the recession.

“The results so far this year are quite encouraging, especially when we see that total skincare has not just surpassed the results of the recessionary year 2009, but has almost surpassed the pre-recession year of 2008,” ​said Karen Grant, vice president senior global industry analyst, NPD Group.

The biggest gain was seen in facial skin care, which is also by far the largest segment in the category. In total, sales rose 7 percent to $1.1bn, growth that was underlined by continued demand for anti-aging products.

Skin care kits

But the biggest rise came from the niche segment for prestige skin care sets and kits, with sales rising by 17 percent to reach $97.9m, whereas sun care was up 5 percent to $41.6m, and prestige hair care was up $39.1m.

NPD’s research in this segment found that during the period in question the biggest new launches on the market were Clinique’s Even Better Clinical Dark Spot Corrector and All About Eyes De-Puff – both of which target niche areas of the anti-aging trend.

“We are seeing growth across the majority of brands and brand types – from top established brands like Clinique, Estee Lauder and Lancome – to Make-up artist/salon, designer, alternative, clinical and cosmeceutical brands as well as natural, spa, wellness brands and those that provide a mix of clinical and natural offerings,” ​said NPD’s senior beauty analyst Karen Grant.

Drop in body care

In fact all segments within the prestige skin care category reported significant gains, except the body care segment, which was reported to have slipped a further 5 percent compared to the sales for the first half of 2009.

Grant attributes this fall to a continued shift away from prestige body care products to mass market products.

“It appears that for the majority of their bodycare needs, a more basic product meets most of the needs and consumers see the value in lower priced options for basic bodycare,” ​Grant stated.

Looking at the overall results for the six month period, Grant stated her belief that in the US market it now looks like ‘2010 will be the year of prestige skin care’.

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