The Millennial Path to Purchase: Personal Care & Beauty

As part of our Generational Shopper series we present the millennial path to purchase of personal care and beauty. Our findings take you through the shopping journey from catalyst to loyalty. Learn how millennials shop differently both intra- and inter-generationally for these products. 

Still Developing Routines

Top drivers for millennial personal care and beauty shopping trips are routine behaviors like running out of something, stocking up, and/or regular trips. However, they’re less likely to cite these reasons than older counterparts. As they age, even within the millennial generation, routine shopping behaviors increase.

The Power of Influencers

While friends are the top source of inspiration, the power of influencers can’t be ignored. YouTube videos from influencers are the next most commonly cited source of inspiration after friends, at 24%. All top resources are a mix of influencers on some form of social media, along with more traditional word of mouth.

Who do Millennials turn to for personal care and beauty inspiration chart

In-Store and Online Habits

Despite the prevalence of smartphones, millennials most often turn to in-store activities like price and product comparisons. Millennial shoppers, and millennial women in particular, are also the segment most likely to actually enjoy browsing for products while in store relative to older segments.  This makes them ideal targets for shelf-level engagement.

While the share of overall purchasing online is still small across categories, 15% of millennial personal care & beauty purchases take place on the web. This is the same share as millennial clothing purchases, the largest of any category.

High Loyalty

Very few millennials will settle for alternative brands if they already have one in mind when they get to the store, even if that brand is unavailable. A full 65% and 78% of millennials who know what personal care and beauty brands they will buy will either order it online, go to a different store, or wait until their next trip to buy that same brand if it’s not available.

What do Millennials do when their preferred brand is out of stock chart

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