Personal care electricals (PCE) will be the fastest growing category in the UK electricals market over the next five years as innovation drives consumers to purchase, according to data and analytics company GlobalData. For retailers, this market offers revenue growth potential while other electricals categories, such as audio visual, stagnate, the company adds.
The PCE market is forecast to grow by 17% over the next five years compared to an increase of 8% in the overall electricals market. Growth in PCE will be driven by the fast-expanding category beauty tools which comprise products such as electrical facial cleansers, acne Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) devices and electrical body contouring devices.
GlobalData retail analyst Zoe Mills commented: “Beauty tools, from brands such as Clarisonic, Clinique and FOREO, are also closely tied to the health and beauty market, which is set for double-digit growth over the next five years. This market is increasingly supported by YouTube stars and beauty bloggers, with these individuals now instrumental in promoting freshness in the market, and incorporating more PCE into their posts.”
The majority of PCE purchases are replacement driven (68.8%) and with replacement cycles as long as three plus years, newness in the beauty tools market encourages consumers to purchase more often. Innovation is also a key driver of first-time purchases in this category; for example, 58.1% of beauty tools purchased in the past year were a first-time purchase, according to GlobalData’s 2018 survey.
Zoe added: “Of the PCE subcategories, hairdryers have the lowest level of first-time purchases at 19.7%. While there has been some innovation, namely with the Dyson Supersonic in 2016, little has changed in this market to entice shoppers to purchase outside of their replacement cycles.
“Historically, only premium brands have offered beauty tools along with premium price tags, but prices are beginning to fall as midmarket brands such as BaByliss, Olay and Braun invest in beauty tools as well. This is opening the market up to a broader audience.”
