Latest trends in men's cosmetics [2023]! Actual purchasing behaviors and motivation for beauty. Differences by age group

▼ Survey and analysis overview
A survey was conducted from May 26, 2023 to June 2, 2023 (24,450 respondents) among VALUES, Inc.'s nationwide consumer panel. This article analyzes the latest trends in men's cosmetics using the responses of men in their 20s and over (n=11,639).

“Men’s cosmetics" refers to cosmetics made for men. The term "cosmetics" includes not only makeup, but also skin care, such as cleansers and toners, and hair care, such as shampoos and hairstyling products.

When it comes to "men's cosmetics," many people may have the impression that the younger the man, the more interested they are. In this research, we conducted a questionnaire survey on men's beauty culture and we segmented the responses by age group, and got a closer look at the reality of men's cosmetic purchases and the motivations behind them.

The following table summarizes the top five responses for each age group when survey respondents were asked about their experience purchasing personal grooming and beauty items.

Young men in their 20s and 30s purchased "hair care," "skin care," "body care," and "shaving / hair removal" products in order of purchasing experience, while middle-aged and older men in their 40s and over purchased "hair care," "shaving / hair removal," "oral care," and "body care" products, The younger respondents were more likely they to purchase products for skin problems, and the middle-aged and older group respondents were more likely to purchase products for hair and bad breath, indicating a purchasing trends that are unique to their age group. The percentage of respondents who answered "None purchased" increased with age, and although the gap between those in their 20s and those ages 60 and over was less than 5 points, it appears that younger people tend to purchase more personal grooming and beauty items.

In addition, 25-30% of respondents across all age groups answered that they have not purchased any items, and even among those who have purchased such items, they are mainly personal grooming items. Another characteristic of men observed was that compared to women, style-related products that are a step beyond personal grooming (makeup products and use of various salons) were not ranked in the top 5.

Among those who are conscious of their personal grooming, young men seem to be particularly interested in skin care. Looking at the percentage of men searching for "skin care," the men in their 20s has the highest percentage, indicating that younger men in particular are actively gathering information on skin care.

From the above, it can be assumed that men who purchase cosmetics do so based on their perception of "personal grooming" rather than "beauty" in accordance with the unique concerns of each person and age group.

[Information-gathering media]
The table below shows the top five responses for each age group when respondents were asked to choose more than one medium from which they gather information on personal grooming and beauty.

The difference between the two age groups is evident from the information-gathering media, with Amazon ranking first among young adults in their 20s and 30s, and in-store product displays and POP ads ranking first among middle-aged and older adults in their 40s and over.

The characteristics by age group and the expected information-seeking behavior from them are as follows.

[Purchasing channel]
Next, we will look at purchasing channels. The table below shows the top five responses for each age group when survey respondents were asked how they purchased their makeup products.

"Drugstore" was the top purchasing channel for makeup products across all age groups, with the percentage of respondents choosing this channel increasing with age. In addition, "General e-commerce website" is also among the top purchasing channels.

In the overall ranking, there is a tendency for daily shopping places, such as "100-yen shop / discount store," "Supermarket / shopping mall," and "Convenience store," to rank in the top five. On the other hand, “Specialty store" ranked third among respondents in their 20s and "Department store" ranked fifth among shoppers ages 60 and over, suggesting that some shoppers are trying to compare and purchase makeup products with a sense of security, satisfaction, and particular preference.

In addition, the fact that "official online shopping websites of manufacturers" ranked for respondents in their 20s to 40s suggests that they place importance on the sense of security they feel toward official brand websites. This may be because people in their 20s to 40s are accustomed to gathering information digitally and shopping through e-commerce and have lots of experience with online shopping mistakes.

When the same question was asked about skin care products, "Drugstore" ranked No. 1 with "General e-commerce website," "Supermarket /shopping mall," and "100-yen shop / discount store" following across all age groups. In particular, the response rate of “Drugstore," which ranked first, is over 60% in all age groups, indicating that it is the most common purchasing channel for men to purchase skin care products.

The table below shows the top five most important factors among men when purchasing makeup products that respondents selected when provided multiple choices to choose from.

For makeup products, "Affordable price" and "Gentleness on the skin" ranked No. 1 or 2 across all age groups. By age group, those in their 20s chose products that demonstrated strong preference, such as "Having a color that suits me" and "Having a color that I like," while those in their 30s and 40s chose "Must be readily available" and "Ability to save money with points/rewards, etc." characterized by a low bar when it comes to selecting a product to purchase.

Next, for skin care products, "Affordable price" and "Must be suitable for my skin" ranked No. 1 or 2 across all age groups, at roughly 40% to 55%, indicating that these are the two main concerns among skin care product buyers. Next, “Gentleness on the skin,” “Easy to use,” and “High moisturizing effect” tend to rank in the No. 3 to 5, indicating that quality and ease-of-use are also regarded as important.

In addition, since the responses and rankings are similar among age groups, it seems that men's needs for skincare products are common regardless of age.

What are men's motivations for personal grooming and beauty?
The table below shows the results of a survey that asked respondents to rate their awareness for personal grooming and beauty on a scale, with the most frequent responses being "Agree" or "Somewhat agree."

More than half of the respondents across all age groups answered "Agree" or "Somewhat agree" to the following statements: "'Cleanliness' is the first priority for personal grooming or beauty," "I think it is okay as long as I look presentable at the very least,” and "I want to be able to easily care for my face and skin." Fewer than 20% of respondents across all age groups answered "Somewhat disagree" or "Disagree" to the three statements above.

When it comes to personal grooming and beauty for men, it seems that (1) cleanliness, (2) minimal presentation, and (3) easiness are important.

Let's look at the motivations of personal grooming and beauty among men, dividing them into two categories: motivations driven by others and self-driven motivations.

Motives driven by others
The following table summarizes the responses among survey respondents who were asked to rate the statements related to appearance or personal grooming on a 5-level scale.

The younger the respondent, the higher percentage of those who answered "Agree" and "Somewhat agree" to the statement "I often try to look presentable to be popular."
However, 70-80% of the respondents across all age groups answered "Neither agree nor disagree," "Somewhat disagree," or "Disagree," indicating that "being popular" is not a major motivation for men when it comes to improving their appearance.

Regarding the question “I am conscious of how I look to others when I am trying to look presentable,” the younger the age group, the higher the percentage of people who answered Agree” and “Somewhat agree." The highest percentage, 41.7%, was given by those in their 20s, while the percentage for other age groups was around 30%, a gap of about 10 points, indicating that many people, especially those in their 20s, are conscious of how they present to others when they are working on their appearance.

This suggests motivation among young people are largely dependent on others.


Self-driven motives
The table below summarizes the responses from the survey respondents, who were asked about their appearance, beauty, and appearance and rate their thoughts on a 5-level scale.

For the statement "I think personal grooming and beauty are a form of self-expression," a higher percentage of young adults in their 20s and 30s answered "Agree" than those in older age groups, indicating a strong tendency among young adults to consider personal grooming and beauty as a form of self-expression.

For the statement "I want to look like the person I want to be," the total percentage of those who selected "Agree" and "Somewhat agree" responses was particularly high among those in their 20s, at 48.4%.

This indicates that self-oriented motives are significantly greater in the 20s.

What kind of person do men want to be?
The table below summarizes the survey responses from the respondents, who were asked about the vibe or impression they aspired to have.

The younger the age group, there was a higher percentage of "Agree" and "Somewhat agree" responses to the statement "I am aiming for a 'cool' vibe." However, even those in their 20s, who had the highest percentage of respondents, accounted for 36.5% of the respondents, and it seems that the majority of people want to create the "cool" impression for themselves.

The younger the age group, the higher the percentage of "Agree" and "Somewhat agree" responses to the questions "I admire a gender-neutral vibe" and "I am aiming for a 'kind,' 'cute' vibe." Again, even among those in their 20s, the age group with the highest percentage, the percentages of "Agree" and "Somewhat agree" responses are around 30%.

Based on the above analysis and discussion, the vibe that men want to have for themselves is distributed among "cool," "gender-neutral," and "cute," respectively, and the younger the age group, the more likely they are to fit their self-image into these three categories.

It is noteworthy here that the percentages of "Somewhat disagree" and "Disagree" in the above two statements increased sharply with increasing age. This suggests that middle-aged and older men are resistant to a "gender-neutral," kind," and "cute" self-image that is far-removed from the traditional male characteristics.

Finally, we will examine the factors that have helped remove the "obstacles" for men to purchase cosmetics and the factors that have increased men's motivation toward beauty.

(1) Can be purchased online
With online shopping, men no longer have to feel resistant when shopping in cosmetics shops where customers are predominantly women and feel embarrassed that "men buy cosmetics."

(2) TV commercials featuring famous celebrities
As shown in the image below, many TV commercials for men's cosmetics features actors and comedians as the face of the product.

(3) Male beauty influencers
On TikTok, male beauty influencers with about 200,000 followers, such as Shu @cosme nikki (@shushu_223) and Okami-kun / Otokomigaki-man (@kaito_wolf_512), share content on men's cosmetics.

With the existence of social media, building self-esteem and "being yourself" seems to be on the rise. Will the men's cosmetics market continue to grow, encouraged by this movement? Let's keep an eye on the trend.

[Survey overview]
Target: Nationwide male and female respondents ages 15 and older on VALUES' consumer panel
Period: May 6, 2023 (Fri.) - June 2, 2023 (Fri.)
Devices: Smartphone and PC
Number of samples: 24,450ss
Weighted: The survey is weighted according to the population by gender and age group and the percentage of Internet use. All figures are weighted.