New report examines why women purchase beauty, personal care items at Walmart

WASHINGTON Nearly three-quarters of women shop for beauty and personal care items at Walmart each week, according to the findings of The Benchmarking Co.'s 2010 Pink Report.

The report, dubbed "Women & Walmart: Seeing Through the Eyes of the Beauty and Personal Care Consumer," focuses on how Walmart affects the beauty industry, and why and how women shop for beauty and personal care products at the retailer.

Today's beauty consumer operates under a new set of truths where convenience, price, value and authenticity are key. The report found that women view Walmart as their top destination for beauty and personal care purchases -- 71% of women surveyed said they shop there for beauty and personal care products. Today, Walmart seems to mean more to women than just bargains or low prices: 67% of women strongly agree that Walmart offers premium brands for less.

"Women & Walmart was so important to us because when 200 million people do something each week, it's critical that we understand what and why. Whether your brand is at Walmart or not, what is happening there and how consumers are spending their time and dollars inside the store is vital to the entire beauty and personal care industry," stated Alisa Maria Beyer, founder and director of TBC, a provider of consumer insights and intelligence and brands strategies. "My goal with this report was to give the folks on Madison Avenue an intimate look at Main Street USA to see what?s really going on. It's easy to become out of touch with the real consumer. It's important that we get back to her."