Australian cosmetic and toiletries advertising in double-digit slump
Over the past year, seven out of the top 10 beauty and cosmetic advertisers in Australia took the razor to their ad budgets, reports Nielsen. Estimated media spending in the important cosmetic category slumped to $254 million - a drop of 13% to March 2012. A reflection of the fact that Australians are saving rather than spending. Personal bank deposits now total $500 billion - the highest level of savings on record.
Skincare, which represents about 35% of all beauty and cosmetic ad spending, saw a 13% drop in ad spend over the previous year. The biggest casualty was fragrance with a 26% cut-back over the previous 12 months. Unilever slashed 32% from its ad budget and lost its number one position in the category. Most product ranges were affected, even icon brands like Dove and Vaseline - with their ad spends down 35% and 28% respectively.
L'Oreal proved to be a lifesaver and maintained the same level of ad spending from the previous year. A strategy that secured the number one advertiser slot in the beauty category. The big bucks went to: Garnier Miracle Skin Perfector BB Cream ($2.3 million), Nutrisse Hair Colour ($1.7 million), L'Oreal Paris Revitalift 10 Total Repair ($2 million) and Lash Architect 4D Mascara ($1.4 million). '
Australians lag behind Americans in online beauty sales - but we love to chat
A massive 83% of online Australians have bought goods and services online over the past six months, reveals Nielsen. But beauty and cosmetic items only made up a fraction of the purchases. Only 15% of online shoppers in Australia buy beauty and health products from web sites, in contrast to over 60% of their American counterparts in a recent survey.
Reading beauty reviews is far more popular, with 22% of online Australians checking opinions before buying their lippies and skincare. Just under 13% watch how-tos and videos before deciding to fork out for beauty buys.
The good news for beauty marketers is that 28% of social media users on Facebook and Twitter engage with health and beauty brands. A significant uptick from the 20% who did so in 2010.
Nanotechnology - The main benefits
Most stories and newsfeeds about the use of nanotechnology in cosmetics focus on safety concerns or legislation. Yet nanotechnology is now used in 13% of European and 11% of American cosmetic launches. Over 60% of cosmetic products using nanotechnology, though, are launched in the Asia-Pacific region.
According to Mintel, moisturising/hydrating is the number one claim made by nano beauty products, followed by botanical/herbal and long-lasting benefits. One in five nano launches features anti-ageing or antioxidant claims, followed by brightening/illuminating and UV protection. The use of nano materials in sunscreens has attracted the most adverse publicity, notes Mintel, but is set to boom now that new regulations and proper llabelling have been put in place in the US and Europe.
Peptide dominance to continue
Perhaps it's the catchy name, but peptides often don't receive the respect and acknowledgment they deserve for their revolutionary role in skincare formulas. Technically classified by the number of amino acids found on the molecules, there's a peptide for every job - from firming through anti-irritancy, hair growth and increased cell turnover. And best of all they are highly functional even when used in low concentrations. A godsend for beauty brands because using lower levels of an active ingredient keeps costs down without diminishing high-end claims.
The versatility of peptides has made them the darlings of cosmetic chemists. Depending on the type - monopeptide (1 amino acid), dipeptide (2 amino acids), tripeptide (3 amino acids) hexapeptide (6 amino acids) - they are water-soluble, oil-soluble, water-in-oil, oil-in-water and can even be used dry. All of which explains why the use of peptides is soaring, whether they are used in supermarket moisturisers or super-premium serums.
Still there's more. Women today want instant results and long-term skin benefits from the same jar or tube. Peptides can be combined with skin-brightening and softening ingredients so that creams and serums can meet both needs. In a recent poll of American cosmetic chemists, the men and women in the white coats revealed their on-going love affair with peptides. Over 50% valued them for their high specific activity and 36.6% singled out peptides for their high biological potency. A further 12.7% appreciated their great versatility. Professional support that explains why more and more cosmetic active suppliers are adding new and improved peptides to their ingredient lists.
Snippets from the wires
- The pharmacy skincare market is booming worldwide. L'Oreal's Active Cosmetics division, which includes the Vichy and La Roche-Posay skincare brands, is the fastest-growing sector in the company. Eau Thermale Avène, another French stalwart of the category, has entered the make-up market with the launch of High Protection Tinted Compact SPF 50, a foundation formulated with a 100% mineral sunscreen.
- Yves Rocher, the powerhouse French skincare brand sold in 88 countries and boasting a turrnover in excess of $3 billion, has just created a travel retail division. The reasonably-priced products with the borderline prestige packaging should do well in Asia and South America.
- The number of online Australians has soared from 12.4 million to 15.3 million over the past three years, says Nielsen. Far from being fuelled by tech-crazy younger people, the over-40s rule the Internet. The biggest demographic of online users are the over-50s, who make up 32% of all Aussie online users. In second place are people aged 35-49 at 27.4%. Then it's a long drop to people aged 25 to 34 who comprise 17.5% of the local web population, followed by 18 to 24 years olds at 12.9% and 2 to 17 year olds at 10.1%.
- are launching three new summer fragrances. One for men - Eau Captivante, one for women - Eau Ravissante, and a unisex scent - Eau Universelle. Inspired by the natural scents of provence, citrus notes waft through the trio.
- Packaging is the main way a brand attracts consumer attention. So much so that the global cosmetic packaging market will be worth $US24 billion by the end of the year. One of the major reasons for the uplift, says researcher Visiongain, is that older consumers in developed countries demand smarter packaging even for everyday items.