All around the United States, mask mandates are lifting and the world is headed toward some semblance of normalcy. As the masks come off, Attest conducted a survey of 2,000 nationally representative American consumers to inform the U.S. Beauty & Grooming Report 2022 Report. The goal? To get a better understanding about how Americans are approaching beauty and grooming regimens after years of quarantine, remote work and social distancing orders.
 
First up, let’s cover the time, energy, and money consumers are putting toward “getting ready.” All-in-all, just under half of Americans (45%) spend no more than 15 minutes on beauty and grooming each day, while nearly a third (31%) say they only take up to 30 minutes for their daily personal care regime.
 
When it comes to spending, most shell out between $26-50 per month on beauty/grooming products, with men having an average of 3 products and women having somewhere in the range of 4-6. For brands, this highlights a minimalist approach to beauty, with very competitive margins for inclusion in a consumer’s regimen.

Clean Over Sustainable

Next up, we have an overwhelming majority of consumers opting for brands that tout clean beauty over sustainable beauty. In fact, more than half of Americans (52%) say they take a brand’s use of natural or clean ingredients into consideration when making purchasing decisions. By contrast, only 26% take a brand’s environmental credentials into account.

Relay Any ‘Clean’ Message on the Packaging

For beauty and grooming brand marketers and packaging suppliers alike, this is crucial consideration to make when iterating on product positioning. Particularly for brands that actually do tout clean ingredients—it’s important to put these front and center on the packaging and evangelize them as much as possible.
 
Finally, the research found that product samples are the number one way to get consumers to buy a new beauty/grooming product. It ranks even higher than receiving a recommendation from a friend, special offers and promotions, and expensive forms of marketing like TV advertising. For brands trying to be competitive, it’s crucial to find a supplier that makes sample packaging for everything from mailers and in-store samples, to subscription boxes.
 
About the Author:
Jeremy King is CEO and founder of Attest, a fast-scaling, SaaS technology business based in London and New York. Prior to Attest, Jeremy spent 9 years with McKinsey & Company, leading teams across almost every industry sector, in  more than 25 different countries. He also holds an MBA from Harvard Business School. Originally a scientist focusing on genetics, ecology and animal behavior, Jeremy’s scientific interests include synthetic biology, mathematical simulations and behavioral economics. Jeremy is also the Chair of REAch2 Academy Trust, which helps to support and improve over 60 state primary schools across the UK.