According to NPD data, in the prestige haircare sector USA will experience impressive growth, meaning that it should match the sales levels of the makeup sector – at present worth $7billion – by the end of 2024.
In 2021 prestige hair products sales in the USA were up 47% year-on-year, totalling $2.6 billion. And, for 2022, the sector is expected to jump 15% year-on-year.
The expectation over the next two years is for an average 15% growth in the United States. Shoppers’ data confirm the prediction because more than 90% of consumers plan to purchase some type of hair product in the next six months.
Categories that will benefit moving forward include hair and scalp treatments, relaxers, chemical straighteners, hair gummies and vitamins.
Customers’ first concern is efficacy. More than 50% of hair product consumers say they stick with products that work, while 49% are willing to pay more for them.
“Both functional and fun, the hair category is winning with consumers in more ways than one,” said Larissa Jensen, beauty industry adviser at NPD. “Since the onset of the pandemic, consumers have taken more of their hair routines in-house, sought ways to treat themselves outside of the salon, and have grown more educated on hair conditions and product ingredients. We can expect the category to continue to show strength, as consumers strive to look more polished re-entering society, and product innovations continue to capture their interest.”
The amazing sales results recorded in 2021 prestige hair care were in part powered by a 45% jump in hair styling product sales. During this period, an additional 6.7 million hair care buyers came into the prestige hair space, while spending per buyer rose 29%. The highest increases were seen in scalp care (up 49%), clinical brands (up 34%), and skin + hair brands (up 32%).
According to analysts, this unprecedented growth of hair care business, projected for the next few years, has to do with the more generally increasing habit to buy treatment for hair – online or at bricks & mortar outlets – that people have started during the lockdowns. This goes along with an international trend where prestige hair care products are being sold in different channels that include pharmacies, perfumeries, hair salons and even barbers. This phenomenon doesn’t seem to be homogeneous in all countries, but retail appears as the best chance for hair salons to balance the losses registered in the services department and eventually increase profit.
