Kiwis Not Interested In Premium Beauty Products

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Most Kiwis Not Interested In Premium, Expensive Haircare, Skincare & Beauty Products

- Majority purchase health and beauty products from supermarkets
- Eight in ten believe mass produced haircare, skincare and cosmetics just as good as premium, expensive alternatives

Auckland, March 30, 2007: The majority of Kiwis buying health and beauty products are price-driven, prefer to buy them from supermarkets, and spend no more on beauty products and treatments than they used to, a new survey by The Nielsen Company revealed today. And the majority believes that mass-market haircare, skincare and cosmetics are just as good as premium, expensive alternatives.

Nearly seven in ten (69%) Kiwis purchase health and beauty products, with 86 percent of those visiting a supermarket to buy them, the survey revealed. This was followed by 70 percent who buy from a pharmacy, 38 percent from a department store, and 22 percent from a specialty store. See Charts 1 and 2

The Nielsen Online Consumer Opinion Survey, the largest half-yearly survey of its kind, asked consumers about their attitudes to personal grooming and purchase of health & beauty products. The survey was conducted in late October/early November, surveying 25,408 Internet users in 46 markets from Europe, Asia Pacific, North America and the Middle East.

“The purchase of health and beauty products from supermarkets has helped grow health and beauty products* 4.6 percent in the year to January 2007, with personal care and cosmetic categories combined now worth $721.2 million in sales according to our ScanTrack data,” commented Mr Rob Clark, executive director, FMCG, The Nielsen Company.

“This growth may be stifled a little by further findings showing that over six in ten consumers are price driven and three quarters of consumers say they are not spending any more on beauty products than they used to,” Clark continued. “It’s therefore vital for marketers to develop brand awareness and trial to drive loyalty to their brand to gain market share, especially considering that, following price, the second highest influencer is their preferred brand, with nearly six in ten consumers stating it as their main purchasing influencer for health and beauty products”. See Chart 3

Further supporting the findings of Kiwis being price driven and purchasing mainly from supermarkets is the fact that eight in ten consumers agree that mass-market haircare (80%), skincare (79%) and cosmetics (79%) are just as good as premium, expensive alternatives.
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Chart 1: 69 percent of Kiwis purchase health and beauty products

Chart 2: 86 percent of Kiwis purchase from supermarket

Chart 3: 63 percent of Kiwis purchase because of price

About ACNielsen
ACNielsen, a division of The Nielsen Company, is the world's leading marketing information provider. Offering services in more than 100 countries, the unit provides measurement and analysis of marketplace dynamics and consumer attitudes and behaviour. Clients rely on ACNielsen's market research, proprietary products, analytical tools and professional service to understand competitive performance, to uncover new opportunities and to raise the profitability of their marketing and sales campaigns. To learn more, visit www.acnielsen.com.

About The Nielsen Company
The Nielsen Company is a global information and media company with leading market positions and recognised brands in marketing information (ACNielsen), media information (Nielsen Media Research), business publications (Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, Adweek), trade shows and the newspaper sector (Scarborough Research). The privately held company has more than 42,000 employees and is active in more than 100 countries, with headquarters in Haarlem, the Netherlands, and New York, USA. For more information, please visit, www.nielsen.com.

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