Call it the grooming boom.
In 2023, grooming and shaving product purchases made via Afterpay soared 122 percent, trailing only behind foot care and facial pore strips in terms of growth.
“Grooming products outpacing traditional beauty products suggests people are taking a more preventative route when it comes to their routines,” said consumer insights psychologist and Afterpay ambassador Shakaila Forbes-Bell, noting the growth is driven largely by Gen Z.
Though makeup products in the blush, bronzer and lip segments still saw strong sales, it was in fact eye makeup that saw the most growth in 2023 within color cosmetics, a newer phenomenon that Forbes-Bell attributes to a rise in what she has coined “loud beauty.”
In a similar vein, body and glitter sales, too, saw a 56 percent sales increase, which Forbes-Bell correlated to Beyoncé’s “Renaissance” tour — for which the 32-time Grammy Award winner herself asked attendees to don “fabulous silver fashions” — and Taylor Swift’s similarly bedazzled “Eras” world tour.
“Whether it was showing up at the events themselves or recreating the looks at themed parties, it’s no surprise that makeup products as well as body and hair glitter sales were up compared to the previous year,” Forbes-Bell said.
And as for the surge in foot care, thank the “skinification” effect and viral K-beauty offerings in the category like foot masks.
The 15 top-growing beauty and personal care product purchases made via Afterpay in 2023.
- Foot care: +331 percent
- Facial pore strips: +240 percent
- Grooming and shaving: +122 percent
- Eye makeup: +110 percent
- Tanning products: +102 percent
- Face makeup: +95 percent
- Facial blotting paper: +86 percent
- Toners and astringents: +79 percent
- Lip liner: +75 percent
- Lip gloss: +75 percent
- Sunscreen: +71 percent
- Blushes and bronzers: +70 percent
- Aftershave: +70 percent
- Lip balms: +69 percent
- Eye primer: +63 percent
Source: WWD