Appetite for skin care fattens up prestige sales



Following a dismal year 
in 2009, U.S. prestige beauty categories experienced an upswing in 2010 and, judging by the numbers, 2011 looks to be a positive year for prestige beauty.


“What a difference a year makes. If there were any doubts of the continued appeal of prestige beauty products and the tenacity of the beauty industry after the declines of 2009, then 2010 provided a loud, clear and most encouraging answer,” stated Karen Grant, VP and senior global industry analyst for the NPD Group, which defines prestige beauty as products sold mainly in U.S. department stores.


According to NPD, the total U.S. prestige beauty industry showed an increase of 4% in dollar sales in 2010 compared with 2009, after two consecutive years of decline.


In 2010, all the U.S. prestige beauty categories experienced dollar growth, as opposed to 2009 where all categories, including the total prestige industry, declined.


Beauty mavens continue to have an appetite for skin care products, as prestige skin care posted the biggest increase, followed by prestige makeup and prestige fragrance.


By the first half of 2010, anti-aging had captured the bulk (61%) of the facial skin care market. In the face category, anti-aging outperformed the overall segment and was up 9% compared with the first half of 2009. Of the anti-aging dollars, the majority was spent on facial moisturizers (44% dollar share), with age specialists representing the second-largest segment (25% share) followed by eye products (19% share).

The article above is part of the DSN Category Review Series. For the complete Prestige Buy-In Report, including extensive charts, data and more analysis, click here.