Looks increasingly important for men and baby boomers

Men and older generations are becoming increasingly focused on appearance and image, according to new market research.

The development is largely driven by our increasingly visual society where image and good looks is often associated with success, according to a report by market researcher Canadean.

Both genders were found to link a great appearance with personal and professional success, with 66% of women and 61% of men taking this view.

While this view was more prevalent among a younger demographic, with 65% of 16-24 year olds subscribing to this concept, baby boomers were not far behind. More than half, 60%, of those aged 55 and over were also of this opinion.

Veronika Zhupanova, analyst for Canadean, said: “This trend reflects how image-consciousness is catching up with men and baby boomers, demonstrating narrowing gender and age disparities in the beauty market.”

Sales of men’s skincare products, up from 453 billion occasions in 2011 to 557 billion occasions in 2015 reinforces the growing attention men are paying to their appearance.

However, the Canadean research showed that women are still 1.3 times more likely than men to feel pressure to look good.

Canadean cities the selfie culture as another key driver of the rising focuses on appearance.