Fifty-one percent of Australian women say moisturizing benefits most important factor when choosing skin care products, with 51% saying 'value for money' is most important, survey finds

Michelle Rivera

December 6, 2011 (press release) – In the year to September 2011, 73% of women (6.8 million) aged over 14 years have used skin care products. Of course, the proportion is significantly lower for men at 29% (2.7 million).

When looking at factors that are important to these users when purchasing skin care products, women list ‘Moisturising Benefits’ (59%), and ‘Value for Money’ ( 51%) as the top 2 most important factors considered when purchasing these products. ‘Sun Protection Factor’ (42%) along with ‘Not Tested on Animals’ (34%) and ‘Quality Brand’ (34%) were also important to over one third of women who use skin care.

Looking at women who use skin care products, age does not seem to make much of a difference to the usage of these products, with those aged over 50 being as likely as younger generations to use skin care products. Although the incidence of use is similar, the factors that are considered important differ considerably when purchasing skin care products.

The chart shows which factors are important to women aged under 50 when purchasing skin care products compared to women 50 and over. The skin conditions associated with youth lead younger females to place greater importance on Anti-acne and Oil Control Benefits than women over 50, however there are other factors that may be of more interest to marketers. The results show that women aged under 50 are much more likely to consider outside influences when purchasing skin care. Factors such as Advertising and Recommendations from Professionals or Friends and Family are much more valuable to this group than older women.

Norman Morris, Industry Communications Director at Roy Morgan Research, says:

“Roy Morgan Single Source data gives valuable insight into the attributes shoppers look for when purchasing skin care products. While ‘moisturising benefits’, ‘value for money’ and ‘sun protection’ are key characteristics that are sought by women overall, it’s interesting to see how age of the target audience is an important factor for marketers to consider as it play a vital role in the success of a skin care product, and its marketing campaigns.”

An extensive range of Roy Morgan Skin Care Buyer Customer Profiles is available. Our Profiles include buyers of facial cleansers, facial moisturisers and hand and body lotions including brands such as Nivea, Olay, Avon, Johnson’s, Dove, Clearasil, Neutrogena and many more. These profiles provide a broad understanding of the target audience, in terms of demographics, attitudes, activities and media usage in Australia. An in-depth media analysis of these brands is also available.

About Roy Morgan Research

Roy Morgan Research is Australia’s best known and longest established market research and public opinion survey company. Roy Morgan Single Source is thorough, accurate, and provides comprehensive, directly applicable information about current and future customers. It is unique in that it directs all the questions to each individual from a base survey sample of around 55,000 interviews in Australia and 15,000 interviews in New Zealand annually - the largest Single Source databases in the world. The questions asked relate to lifestyle and attitudes, media consumption habits (including TV, radio, newspapers, magazines, cinema, catalogues, pay TV and the Internet), brand and product usage, purchase intentions, retail visitations, service provider preferences, financial information and recreation and leisure activities. This lead product is supported by a nationally networked, consultancy-orientated market research capability.

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