Due to inflation, French consumers are forced to adapt their purchases and change some of their habits to try to keep their heads above water. And this involves cuts in the budget allocated to products considered less essential than food or gasoline, such as cosmetics. As a result, French women are reviewing their priorities, and slowly but surely changing their beauty habits.
The impact of inflation on the daily lives of the French
While inflation is still flirting with record levels that have not been observed since the mid-1980s, the French are trying by all means to prioritize their purchases to avoid increasing their overdraft. And this is not an easy thing, according to the latest Secours populaire barometer, which estimated the share of French people living in the red this year at 18%. A situation which is not without consequences, then 45% of French people have not been able to pay for certain medical procedures, 43% have not been able to consume fresh fruits and vegetables every day, and 32% do not have the possibility of consuming healthy products in sufficient quantities to enjoy three meals a day, at least not every day. All this data suggests that consumers are also inevitably forced to give up products considered non-essential.
Falling beauty spending
This was recently revealed by a Nielsen IQ survey, indicating that nearly one in two French consumers (45%) planned to reduce their spending on beauty products in 2023. And this data is now confirmed by a survey carried out by OpinionWay for Blissim, which lifts the veil on the tips and remedies of French women to try to lower the rating.
In particular, we discover that almost two thirds of the women surveyed (63%) currently spend between 11 and 50 euros per month on their hygiene and beauty products, while more than a quarter of the panel (27%) do not only allocate less than 10 euros to it. A budget which decreased for 28% of respondents, while it remained unchanged for 43% of them.
Long live promotions and XXL formats!
However, more than one in two French women (56%) say they have reduced the number of purchases of hygiene and beauty products over the last twelve months, including 24% for bath and shower products, 58% for perfumes and 66% for makeup products. Beyond the budget or the frequency of purchases, women have adopted new behaviors to save money on this expense item. Price is now at the center of all concerns: nearly nine out of ten respondents (86%) now say they pay particular attention to it, as do promotions, when 61% say they turn to large formats, often considered more economical. .
But inflation also changes daily uses, since more than one in two respondents (56%) try to reduce the quantity of product with each use. Another tip adopted by French women: comparing prices. More than half of the women surveyed (53%) say they are turning to products, or ranges of products, similar to those usually used – but offered at less expensive prices. Note that rechargeable products are favored by 46% of respondents, while 43% have simply changed brand(s), and 40% have turned more towards product samples.
Christmas to stock up at low prices
If the price turned out to be the main purchasing criterion at the start of the school year (16%) for hygiene and beauty products, ahead of the green nature of the formulation and manufacturing (15%), French women do not don’t intend to completely give up these bathroom essentials. And this, especially during the end-of-year holidays. Three-quarters of respondents plan to slip this type of product under the tree at Christmas, whether for themselves or others. And gift boxes, both fun and economical, will be particularly favored (72%), whether on the theme of beauty (80%) or whether they are food boxes (42%).
This survey was carried out online by OpinionWay for Blissim, between July 25 and August 1, 2023, among a sample of 1,002 French women aged 25 to 45.
