Comprehensive report reveals generational beauty spending trends and preferences

• Millennials drive the highest growth at US$193 Billion overtaking Gen X by 2034
• Gen X lead beauty spending in 2024, with an expected $150B increase over the next decade

NielsenIQ (NIQ) collaborated with World Data Lab and SPATE to release a comprehensive generational report purely focused on the beauty market in the next decade.

The report reveals key insights into generational preferences, spending habits, values, priorities, motivators, shopping behaviors, and their influence on global beauty trends. It highlights the crucial role each generation will play in shaping consumer preferences and spending over the next decade.

Millennials will be at the helm of this trend by driving nearly half of global beauty spend at US$ 193 Billion with Gen Z coming a close second at US$ 158 Billion. The global beauty industry is seeing unprecedented growth at US$ 1.1 Trillion, with a projected growth of US$ 700 Billion by 2034, of which Asia will be contributing US$ 310 Billion.

Commenting on the findings, Claire Marty, Vice President, NIQ Beauty, said “At NIQ, we recognize that understanding generational differences is key to navigating the evolving beauty industry. This is an opportunity for companies to move beyond “one size fits all” approach and tailor their strategies for each generation. Our consumer trends and sales data will help beauty brands uncover unmet needs, understand consumer values, and navigate the retail landscape."

Top beauty takeaways across generations:

Millennials to dominate the beauty industry in the next decade:

• Millennials, born between 1977 - 1995 will be leading global beauty market growth in the next 10 years and will surpass Gen X as the dominant force in beauty spending in 2034, representing 24% of spending globally.
• Millennial spending growth on skin and hair care in 2024 outpaces the total market in both the United States and rest of world. More than half of millennials (56%) think about their looks most of the time and are most likely to use natural ingredients or food products as substitutes in their beauty routine.
• Millennials spending on beauty services will grow the most by 2034. Europe is leading this trend with 57% of millennials in Europe spending their beauty budgets on beauty services, and only 6% on make-up, in comparison to millennials in North America where makeup represents 11% of spending.
• Millennials are influenced by TikTok trends with #makeupover30 being the top TikTok hashtag, growing at 194.9% YoY to reflect the search for tips and products specific to their age concerns and needs. As an example, TikTok searches put the spotlight on an increasing interest in Beef Tallow usage for skin care routines with 14.1M avg weekly views.

Gen X are the biggest beauty spenders:

• Gen X, born between 1965-1980 is the most valuable generation to beauty spending in 2024 until 2034, growing spend by $150B in the next 10 years. North America and Asia Pacific will drive over half of Gen X growth with China’s middle class and India’s wealthy as key contributors.
• Gen X are heavily engaged across beauty – with higher penetration than the total population in 80% of beauty categories analyzed. Skin care as a category will see the fastest growth in the next 10 years – growing at 4.9% YoY ($26.8B).
• Convenience comes first as Gen X’s channel choice, and they are likely to shop in all-in-one locations like Amazon and Hypermarkets.
• Gen X’s TikTok views on makeup has grown to 53% with #over40makeup becoming a popular hashtag (6.9 M views) in 2024. Products such as the Guide Beauty Wand for consumers who deal with shaky hands are seeing traction among some Gen X creators on TikTok.

“We project that for the first time ever the global beauty sector is now exceeding US$ 1 trillion,” said Wolfgang Fengler, CEO of World Data Lab, “which is a testimony to consumers of all ages and all countries’ desire to use cosmetics and beauty services.”

“Understanding digital trends on platforms like TikTok and Google Search is essential for brands to stay ahead, as it reveals real-time shifts in consumer interests and needs across generations,” said Yarden Horwitz, Co-founder, SPATE.

With Millennials and Gen Z prioritizing health and the environment, they are looking at different aspects of sustainability in beauty products. Millennials are likely to choose a product or service because of its low or zero impact on the environment (+3.2 pts), while Gen Z purchases a product that values social equality or supports communities at risk or minorities (+1.2 pts).

The Beauty Futures report – a guide to generational journey of global beauty buyers, is NIQ’s flagship report providing a comprehensive view of global beauty consumers. The report covers:

- Projections for the next 10 years of the global beauty industry.

- Key drivers of purchase behavior for all generations.

- Emerging beauty trends from Google and TikTok.

If you want a copy, please click here.

About NIQ

NielsenIQ (NIQ) is the world’s leading consumer intelligence company, delivering the most complete understanding of consumer buying behavior and revealing new pathways to growth. NIQ combined with GfK in 2023, bringing together the two industry leaders with unparalleled global reach. Today NIQ has operations in more than 95 countries covering 97% of GDP. With a holistic retail read and the most comprehensive consumer insights—delivered with advanced analytics through state-of-the-art platforms—NIQ delivers the Full View^TM.

About World Data Lab

World Data Lab creates forward looking proprietary data to quantify and forecast consumer trends, consumer spending, demographic shifts and progress towards the SDGs up to 2034. Our advanced data science approach, which has been peer-reviewed and published in Nature, delivers unrivalled accuracy, freshness and consistency across all demographic groups in 180 countries and more than 6,000 cities.

About SPATE

Spate is an AI-powered market research platform that analyzes over 20 billion search signals and 60 million TikTok videos worldwide, offering brands insights into the evolving landscape of consumer trends. Through Spate's data, brands will better understand the fast-paced world of beauty with key notable age-related shifts, such as the growing interest in mature skin makeup across Google Search and TikTok.

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