Beauty is back, a survey says. Americans are returning to pre-pandemic beauty and grooming routines, accoridng to a study by NCS, a company that helps brands improve the effectiveness of advertising. 

Highlights from the survey:

• 39% of U.S. consumers say they plan to spend more in the coming months on products that improve their appearance.


• 37% say they will use products they discovered during the Covid pandemic.


• Nearly 40% say they plan to increase their spending on cosmetic and personal care products


• 67% think advertising is important in influencing their choice of beauty/grooming products


• 38% say they will shop more in stores


• More than half—55%—of consumers plan to increase their usage of beauty products


• 41% of consumers place a priority on sustainable beauty products 


• 21% are seeking vegan product choices.

"The power of advertising is abundantly evident in these survey results, in which 66% of consumers say they've bought a product after seeing an ad for it," said Lance Brothers, chief revenue officer, NCS (NCSolutions). "Now is a pivotal time for beauty and personal care brands to remind people of the category and the products consumers might have left behind," he continues, adding, "It's time to reinforce the need for the brand as everyone navigates a more social world that's 'face-to-face in-person' and not just through a camera lens."

What Do Consumers Plan on Buying?

In the survey, 39% of American consumers say they anticipate increasing their spending on beauty products and 38% say they will increase their purchases in-store, rather than online.

More than half—55%—of consumers plan to increase their usage of at least one beauty product.

• 34% say they'll use more hand soap
• 25% more deodorant
• 24% more mouthwash
• 24% more body wash
• 17% more makeup.

Trial Sizes Are In Demand—And Overall Spending is Up

According to NCS's CPG Purchase Data, trial-size products were up 87% in May 2021, compared to May 2020.

Plus—spending on suntan products was 43% higher year-over-year.

Consumers also spent more on hair tonic (+21%), deodorant (+18%), hair spray and hair styling product (+7%) and oral hygiene (+6%) for the month, compared to the prior year (May 2020).

NCS states, "Beauty product sales have been on a gradual upward trajectory since their low at the height of the pandemic in March 2020. During Christmas week 2020, beauty product sales were up 8% year-over-year, and Easter week were up 40% year-over-year. The category has recovered back to 2019 levels."

The survey was fielded between June 2021 with 2,094 respondents, ages 18 and older, across the U.S.