Super Premium Beauty and Personal Care in Indonesia

2020 IMPACT

Category sales slump despite substantial shift to e-commerce

2020 saw major declines in sales of super premium beauty and personal care as the COVID-19 pandemic and the official response to it placed significant pressure on demand across the category. Among the main factors undermining demand for super premium beauty and personal care during the year was the adverse economic environment that unfolded over the course of 2020 as the interruptions that the pandemic situation caused to commercial activity in various key sectors of the Indonesian economy placed significant pressure on household incomes.

Pressure on category sales motivates more of a focus on key consumer groups

The substantial pressure that came on demand for super premium beauty and personal care due to the COVID-19 pandemic during 2020 led most of the category’s strongest players to sharpen their focus on their core consumer groups in an effort to improve their sales opportunities and create greater efficiencies in their marketing campaigns. Super premium beauty and personal care is a category that mainly targets women, with Indonesian men generally paying much less attention to their personal grooming than their female counterparts.

Demand comes under pressure due to the reduced need for personal grooming

One of the major factors putting pressure on sales of super premium and personal care products during 2020 was the strict adherence to the principles of social distancing and home seclusion that emerged from the COVID-19 situation. With many people wisely avoiding all social contact wherever possible, there was far less reason for Indonesian women to wear colour cosmetics and fragrances as their social lives ground to a halt and they spent most of their time on their own at home.

RECOVERY AND OPPORTUNITIES

A positive performance expected over the forecast period

At the end of the review period, the prospects for super premium beauty and personal care over the forecast period looked quite promising as the eventually recovery of Indonesia’s economy and the return to socialising outside of the home are expected to support rising demand across all categories. Furthermore, the new focus on health and wellness and the strong focus on hygiene that have emerged from the COVID-19 situation are expected to promote demand for products with anti-bacterial properties, for instance, with such products often staples of the product ranges offered by super premium beauty and personal care brands.

The greater focus on younger consumers set to spur growth

As mentioned above, demand for super premium beauty and personal care is increasingly shifting towards Indonesia’s emerging generation of adult consumers, with marketing campaigns increasingly targeting the millennial consumers. Many of the affluent young professionals who comprise a huge proportion of Indonesia’s emerging urban middle-class are much more open to super premium beauty and personal care products than their older counterparts as they are interested in socialising and presenting an attractive and elegant image when doing so than older consumers who, as mentioned above, are generally more focused on savings and investments and spending money on their children and households.

Skin care set to emerge as the key category of super premium beauty and personal care

Over the forecast period, super premium skin care is expected to post the highest growth of all categories in super premium beauty and personal care. While 2020 saw the category benefit from the perceived need to continue with skin care routines at a time when many women were prepared to forgo wearing colour cosmetics and fragrances due to the absence of opportunities to socialise during the year, the forecast period is expected to see Indonesian women take their skin care routines even more seriously.