Brits spend £6.4 billion a year on cosmetics
Despite the cost-of-living crisis causing many of us to change our spending habits, Brits are continuing to spend billions on small luxuries such as cosmetics.
Brits spend £6.4 billion per year on cosmetics, with London and the South East indulging the most, according to a study by price comparison site Idealo.
The ‘lipstick effect’ describes how, during times of financial crisis, we tend to spend more money on small luxuries – like high-end lipsticks – to bring us comfort.
While investigating this effect, Idealo noted that demand for lipsticks has risen by a huge 1,006% since the cost-of-living crisis started in the UK.
In light of this, Idealo used ONS data to look into Brits’ spending habits and predict future patterns.
The UK’s average spend of £6.4 billion per year on cosmetics is actually 7% less than in 2020, when spending hit £6.9 billion – perhaps due to the pandemic leading people to find joy in small indulgences while stuck at home.
Londoners are currently spending the most on beauty products (£983.6 million per year), followed by households in the South East (£892 million) and the West Midlands (£653.5 million).
Meanwhile, Northern Ireland spends the least on cosmetics at just £171.9 million per year on average.
The top 10 UK regions spending the most on cosmetics:
|
Rank
|
Region
|
Average annual spend on cosmetics (£)
|
|
|
|
1
|
London
|
£983,616,400
|
|
2
|
South East
|
£891,976,800
|
|
3
|
West Midlands
|
£653,452,800
|
|
4
|
North West
|
£641,050,800
|
|
5
|
East
|
£618,810,400
|
|
6
|
Yorkshire and The Humber
|
£551,070,000
|
|
7
|
South West
|
£541,335,600
|
|
8
|
Scotland
|
£534,918,800
|
|
9
|
East Midlands
|
£455,026,000
|
|
10
|
Wales
|
£209,664,000
|
Analysing internal data for product demand, Idealo has also revealed that interest for lipsticks has risen by a huge 1,006% since September 2021.
Other beauty products have also seen an increase in interest from consumers with demand for lip gloss increasing by 1,154%, mascara by 1,229%, and lip liner by a staggering 1,667%.
Based on current spending patterns, the UK is predicted to spend 11% (£716.8 million) less on cosmetics by 2030.
However, some regions of the country are actually set to increase their spending on beauty products, with the West Midlands predicted to spend an additional £260 million on cosmetics by 2030, an increase of 40%.
Those in the South East, Yorkshire, South West and East of the country are also expected to increase their spending.
The top 5 regions where spending on cosmetics is set to increase by 2030:
|
Rank
|
Region
|
Current household spending (£)
|
Predicted spend by 2030 (£)
|
Total increase in spending by 2030 (£)
|
|
1
|
West Midlands
|
£653,452,800
|
£913,552,640
|
£260,099,840
|
|
2
|
South East
|
£891,976,800
|
£1,047,103,200
|
£155,126,400
|
|
3
|
Yorkshire and The Humber
|
£551,070,000
|
£608,626,200
|
£57,556,200
|
|
4
|
South West
|
£541,335,600
|
£586,656,720
|
£45,321,120
|
|
5
|
East
|
£618,810,400
|
£644,369,960
|
£25,559,560
|
Have you noticed clients spending more on cosmetics? Let us know in the comments...
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