Soap, Perfumery & Cosmetics Magazine December 2002 Report

90% of our respondents were "White," 5% "Black," and 2% each "Asian" and "Hispanic." About 50% of our respondents report living in Suburban areas, 30% in Rural areas, and 20% in Urban areas. Respondents are fairly evenly distributed across five regions of the U.S. with more respondents from the Sun Belt (25%) and less respondents from the Gold Coast (15%).

Our survey uncovered some interesting trends in the cosmetics buying and usage habits of our panelists. Most respondents report spending no more than $15/month on cosmetics. Where buying is concerned, price, features, and brand name are most influential in determining respondents' purchases. Despite the fact that product brand is an important factor in making a purchase, well over half of our respondents are likely to be persuaded to try a new brand. Impulse buying is a factor most often in regard to lip products and nail polish.

Where cosmetics usage is concerned, lip products and foundation are the two items (from a list of 10) that our panelists are least willing to "go without." Not surprisingly, the lip products are also the products that our panelists tend to use the most (many use them at least once daily). After lip products, panelists report that they would be least like to "go without" foundation and mascara, and they do report buying and using a proportional amount of those products. Although panelists are prone to impulse buying of nail polish, very few of them actually use nail polish very often and very few of them chose nail polish as an item they would not want to "go without." Maybe they do not have time to let it dry before keying into one of our surveys….

Finally, our survey respondents told us about where they obtain advice on their cosmetics usage. Although the majority of respondents report that they obtain most of their cosmetics advice through magazines and books, they also report that print advertising is not a major factor in the purchasing decisions. Similarly, many of the women who responded to our survey reported that they obtain advice from the product packaging, although not nearly as many listed packaging as an influence in their purchases.

Our survey found some notable differences based on the ethnicity and ages of respondents. Among those findings were the following: Asians and Hispanics spend more money on cosmetics than the average respondent, and Blacks are most interested in ethnic-specific products. Also, respondents aged 55 and over have some unique habits including: they spend less overall on cosmetics, they are less likely to be persuaded to change brands, they prefer not to "go without" different products than their younger counterparts, and they are less likely than younger respondents to seek or desire advice regarding cosmetics. In this era of increasing cultural diversity and aging baby boomers, more research along ethnic and age-related lines seems indicated.