Skin Care in Japan

PRE-COVID-19 PERFORMANCE

Japan’s ageing population continues to drive strong demand for anti-agers in 2019

Anti-agers continued to show momentum in 2019, supported by Japan’s rapidly ageing population who are becoming increasingly interested in products that can help them look and feel younger for longer. Recognising the potential of the category the competition is intensifying within anti-agers as growing numbers of players enter the marketplace.

Tourism continues to drive sales while in-store experiences help to draw crowds

Inbound tourism is a key driver of demand for skin care in Japan with visitors keen to buy from the country’s wide selection of products and brands. China is a key market in this regard, but new regulation introduced by the Chinese government in January 2019 has put a dampener on cross-border sales, known as Daigou in China.

Leading players taking steps to retain their share as the competitive landscape becomes increasingly fragmented

The competitive landscape within skin care continued to become increasingly fragmented in 2019 as new players from other industries looked to enter the category. For example, entertainment/production company Stardust Group launched a line of skin care called Sophistance in December 2019, which is inspired by traditional Japanese skin care treatments.

2020 AND BEYOND

COVID-19 impact

Sales of skin care are now expected to decline by 4% in 2020 in 2019 constant value terms in light of the impact of COVID-19. This compares to an expected 3% rise forecast for 2020 during research conducted at the end of 2019 before the spread of COVID-19.

Affected products within skin care

High priced products such as anti-agers are expected to be particularly hard hit by COVID-19, with many consumers likely to feel unable to justify spending large sums on non-essential products while the economy remains under threat. While consumers are expected to maintain a basic skin care routine, due to home seclusion the pressure to invest in your appearance has been dulled.

Recovery and opportunities

Skin care is a large category but it is still seen to have potential for further growth. Firstly, with a rapidly ageing population there is an ever-growing interest in products that can help consumers retain healthy and youthful skin.

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