UK sales of night-time skincare soar 7%

Sales of prestige night-time skincare products in the UK has increased by 7% in the period from October 2017 to the end of September 2018, according to industry analyst The NPD Group, positioning the value of the market at £43 million. 

Boosted by both the trends of "self-care" and "me-time", consumers adopted a targeted approach to their night-time beauty rituals, adding a number of additional steps to their regime including facial oils, creams, gel eye masks, eye creams and anti-ageing wrinkle creams.

As a result, anti-ageing night skincare increased 9% in the period from October 2017 to the end of September 2018, driving 74% of growth in night-only skincare, the report found.

Sales of night eye treatment products (including eye masks and eye creams) increased by 14% compared to the same period in the previous year. Facial gels designed for use in the evening increased by 12% versus the previous year and the sale of facial oils (including night concentrates) increased by 4%, the research showed.

“The market for night-time skincare is definitely booming. Sleep is such a big topic among consumers and it appears that many people are suffering from a lack of sleep,” said June Jensen, NPD UK beauty director.

“While sleep experts provide top tips on how to get to sleep, it’s the beauty brands who are delivering their technical expertise with innovative products and the latest scientific formulas to work on the skin overnight.”

The heat wave during the summer also saw sales of night-time skincare increase dramatically with the sales of facial products designed to work overnight growing faster than the total facial skincare market, increasing 9% versus 6% for the whole market.

The categories contributing to the majority of that growth were night-time anti-ageing skincare, which increased 10%, and night eye treatments, which increased 35%, as consumers turned to skincare to hydrate and replenish sun-drenched skin.

“2018 certainly is the year of sleep. Night-time beauty rituals are now an established part of the skincare regime. It has been said that staying in is the new going out and it appears from the data that beauty consumers are embracing this trend,” added Jensen.

“Anti-ageing products and night creams have always been an established part of the night-time regime, but it’s new categories like eye masks and eye creams, plus night gels and facial oils, that are really boosting the night-time skincare market. We believe this trend will continue as we are going into the darker periods of the year.”