How has the pandemic impacted the way Americans purchase beauty products? In Provoke Insights’ third wave of in-house trends research, we set out to track habits, trends, and consumer attitudes in 15 different industries, including the beauty brand space.

Beauty Brand Purchasing is Showing Signs of Growth

The pandemic lifestyle of staying home and masking up left many Americans with fewer opportunities to “beautify.” However, the number of beauty purchasers has actually ticked up 3% since January 2021. Despite this growth, makeup-wearing among women has significantly decreased from the beginning of the pandemic in 2020. As face masks, remote work, and virtual classes continue to remain fixtures of pandemic life, American women are turning away from products like makeup.

Who Are Beauty Brand Purchasers?

These beauty buyers are Millennial Moms who enjoy the experience of perusing beauty aisles. These beauty brand purchasers tend to take more time with their purchase (51%) versus the general population (38%). 

Store Availability is a Barrier

Beauty buyers agree – 56% are struggling to find their favorite products in stores compared to pre-pandemic times. Evidently, this cohort prefers to shop online (30%) rather than in-person. 

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Methodology

Provoke Insights conducted a 15-minute online survey in autumn of 2021 among 1,504 Americans between the ages of 21 and 65. Provoke Insights uses a random stratified sample methodology to ensure a high degree of representation among the U.S. population. (This includes household income, age, gender, geography, ethnicity, and children living in the household.) Statistical differences between subgroups were tested at a 95% confidence level. The margin of error is +/-2.5%.