Indians spent over Rs 5,000 cr on cosmetics in last six months, sector may gain as more women go to work: Study

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

cosmetics, including lipstick, nail polish and eyeliner, were sold in the past six months in the top 10 Indian cities. Customers spent more than ₹5,000 crore on these beauty products, with 40% of them buying online, according to Kantar Worldpanel's first study on the category in India.

Those who purchase both online as well as offline are mostly working women, who spend 1.6 times the amount that overall cosmetic buyers pay on average, said the report. «With more and more women joining the workforce, the penetration and usage of the sector is only going to improve in the future,» said K Ramakrishnan, managing director, South Asia, Worldpanel Division, Kantar.

«Asia is already the beauty centre of the world, with countries like South Korea setting beauty trends across the globe.»Younger Lot Goes Beyond Traditional Products «With rapid urbanisation and the proliferation of online channels, India is at the cusp of a great cosmetic boom,» said Ramakrishnan. Consumers bought coloured cosmetics worth Rs 1,214 on average over the past six months.

Lip products accounted for 38% of overall sales, followed by nail products, indicating that Indian shoppers are expanding their repertoire of beauty purchases. «Indians are going beyond traditional products such as kajal and lipstick to evolved ones like primer, eye shadow and concealers.

These products are also now chosen according to special occasions and everyday wear,» said Ashutosh Valani, founder of Renee Cosmetics. «With so many brands getting launched in the space, the biggest challenge is to differentiate, and educating consumers is crucial.» More than a third of purchases are prompted by retailers' advocacy, while an equal number are influenced by social media, particularly