Attest, the consumer research platform for the world's biggest and fastest-growing brands, recently released their US Beauty & Grooming Report 2022. The data found came from a survey conducted of 2,000 US consumers and questioned their attitudes and behaviors regarding beauty and grooming regimes. The report revealed that Americans now opt for low-maintenance beauty and grooming regimes post-pandemic. 

Jeremy King, CEO and founder of Attest, commented: “The Attest research highlights how the majority of Americans are taking a ‘less is more’ approach to their daily beauty and grooming regimes. Most consumers simply don’t want to take too much time on managing their appearance, or spend that much money on it either. Conversely however, Americans are also increasingly ready to take matters into their own hands when it comes to their appearance, with 85% of people now carrying out some form of DIY treatment at home.” 

Here are the key findings of Attest’s research:

Time:

• 45% of Americans spend no more than 15 minutes a day on beauty and grooming.
• 31% say they spend 30 minutes a day on beauty and grooming.

Spending:

• The average American spends $26-50 per month on beauty/grooming products.
• Nearly a quarter (24%) of thrifty spenders only allocated $10-25 per month for these types of products.
• HIBAGs (Highly Invested in Beauty and Grooming), representing around 12% of the overall sample, are 55% male and 45% female, and spend at least $100 per month on beauty and grooming products.

Shopping Preferences:

• Roughly 10% of consumers shop in a discount store for all their product needs, with women (63%) being more likely to make a purchase here than men (37%).
• According to consumers, product samples are the number-one way to get them to buy a new beauty/grooming product. Sampling ranks even higher than receiving a recommendation from a friend (ranked second) or special offers and promotions (ranked third).

Clean and Green:

• The public is far more likely to be looking out for brands promoting clean beauty rather than sustainable beauty. More than half of Americans (52%) say they take a brand’s use of natural or clean ingredients into consideration when making purchasing decisions.
• By contrast, only 26% take a brand’s environmental credentials into account.
• 47% are attracted to products using the term clean.
• 34% look at a brand’s stance on animal welfare, while 27% want to see the term cruelty free.
• 26% take a brand’s eco credentials into consideration, while 27% find the term environmentally friendly attractive.

Men and Makeup:

• 61% of male consumers say they never buy makeup, meaning 39% do and are buying it regularly, with nearly a quarter of them shopping for makeup at least once a month.
• While 39% of Gen Z males aged 18-25 shop for makeup (and 21% with high regularity), it’s actually millennial men who buy cosmetics most frequently. 
• 35% of men aged 26-40 say they shop for makeup at least once a month, and nearly half of all millennial men buy it at least occasionally.
• Gen X men are similar to Gen Z in their likelihood to shop for makeup (36% buy it and 21% do so regularly).
• The oldest demographic are far less likely to purchase cosmetics; 78% of Boomers (aged 56-66) never buy cosmetics.

DIY Beauty:

• 85% of people carry out beauty and grooming treatments at home.
• The most popular DIY treatment is a face mask or facial, undertaken by 39% of people.
• A third of Americans are cutting (33%) and coloring (32%) their hair at home. Nearly half of men (45%) now say they cut their hair at home, versus one in five (21%) of women.
• Other popular DIY beauty care activities include manicures or pedicures (31%), and shaping eyebrows (25%).
• The majority of men use no more than 3 products, while women use between 4-6.       Only 8.5% of Americans use 10 or more products daily.

Media:

• More than half of Americans (54%) say they interact with or follow beauty/grooming brands on social media. The data finds that Instagram is the platform of choice for Gen Z (aged 18-25), but for everyone else, it’s Facebook.
• Despite many brands investing heavily in high-profile beauty collaborations with influencers, this data finds that Americans believe that seeing/hearing an influencer talk about a product is the least persuasive way to get them to try it.

“Going against the ecommerce grain, shopping for beauty and grooming products still remains very much an in-store experience for Americans,” King concludes. “The data also shows that the public wants focused messaging on the ‘clean,’ natural ingredients of products, but also wishes to be able to sample the goods before committing to a purchase. This, along with consumers’ focus on a more stripped-back care regime, has implications for brands in the hyper-competitive beauty and grooming industry.”