Young men cut personal care spend during recession, UK research shows
The research, which was carried out by Kantar World panel during the weekend of 12th May, this year, and was published in sister publication The Grocer, underlines the fact that a compromised income means cut backs on expenditure in this area.
In the UK right now graduate unemployment is hitting an all-time, which is the result of an increased number of students going into further education, combined with the fact that the ongoing recession has curbed job opportunities.
High graduate unemployment hits personal care spend
Most recent statistics show that one in ten students in the UK are likely to be unemployed six months after graduating from universities in the country, a trend that is being seen all over the region, particularly in southern European countries, where this rate is significantly higher.
The Kantar Worldpanel research revealed that 7 percent of young men aged 17 to 24 have stopped using deodorant at least once a week, cutting back significantly on the use of a product that is invariably deemed to be most effective when used on a daily basis.
"The core driver for using deodorant as part of a routine is getting ready for work. Unemployment removes this," said Kantar analyst Samuel Hart.
Less spend on hair care
Further to this, the research also revealed that a further 5 per cent of men in this age group has stopped washing their hair at least once a week, while a similar number also revealed that they now use hair styling products less than once a week.
But the men’s grooming market has long been a fickle one. Although analysts and market researchers have long been pointing to the potential of the market to grow, that development potentials has only been filled in stops and starts, particularly in developed markets such as Europe.
However, on the back of a more dynamic outlook in developing markets, the global men’s grooming market is still set to be the best performing category in future, with growth of over $3bn forecast between 2011 and 2016, according to Euromonitor.
The main driving force is expected to be the BRIC markets, which are to drive growth in the wider men’s grooming market to 2016, with 30 per cent of the real value growth in the market to come from Brazil, and a further 23 per cent to come from the Asia-Pacific region.
