Shifts in beauty consumer spending mean big opportunity for sun care

13-Jul-2016 - Last updated on 14-Jul-2016 at 12:52 GMT

Related tags Spf Sunscreen

This, according to data from market information provider The NPD Group. Sun protection products—sunscreen, makeup, and skin care with SPF—are selling well and poised for continued growth.

Sales figures are on the rise for SPF products, especially those with higher levels of protection. Consumer spending on color cosmetics, skin care, and sunscreen is increasing as more people aim to prevent sun damage rather than wait to correct it later on.

“Suncare looks to be the next beauty growth area to emerge, as consumers move from a singular focus on correction to a broader focus on care,” affirms Karen Grant, global beauty industry analyst with The NPD Group, in a press release about the category.

Sunny numbers

NPD is reporting a 7% increase in sales of prestige skincare and makeup with SPF, over the past two years. And for the year ending May 2016, those product sales amounted to $1.4bn.

“Coinciding with the AAD’s guidelines, [which advise sunscreen be broad-spectrum, water resistant, and of 30+ SPF,] such products with an SPF of 30 or higher are seeing the greatest growth and outpacing the total SPF market by at least twofold,” notes the market researcher.

Skin care products with an SPF of 30 had a sales increase of 9% year-over-year (June 2014 – May 2015 in comparison to June 2015 – May2016). Over the same period, skin care sales with 45 SPF grew by 29%. And, SPF 50 skin care sales were up 31%, according to data The NPD Group graphed in its sun care press release.

Makeup with SPF protection saw a similar boost. Sales of color cosmetics with an SPF of 15 were flat. Sales of those products with 20 SPF dropped by 15%. While, SPF 30 makeup saw sales increase by 43%, SPF 40 by 168%, and SPF 50 by 96%.

An ounce of prevention

From her perspective as a global beauty industry analyst, Grant explains that, “consumers today are more proactive and less reactive when it comes to managing their well-being.”

And that’s part of what’s causing the shift in consumer spending in the sun care space. “This attitude also translates to the beauty consumer, whose emphasis today weighs less on fixing an issue, and more on preventing one from happening in the first place,” says Grant.

“For more than a decade, all the news in skincare was about serums and technology, but today the focus has shifted to cleaner, simpler, and lighter products. The growth in products with higher SPF ties into today’s mindset and is connected to other emerging care formats including oil, water, milk, and clay,” believes Grant.