Filipino shoppers now more self-conscious
Filipinos are prioritizing beauty and hygiene products more according to Kantar Worldpanel, the world leader in consumer knowledge and insights based on consumer panels. Data revealed that purchases of personal care items increased by 11 percent in June 2015 from a year ago, outpacing growth in other megasectors such as food, beverage and household care.
MEGASECTOR % Growth (June 2015 vs June 2014)
- PERSONAL CARE 11%
- HOUSEHOLD CARE 7%
- FOOD 6%
- BEVERAGE 5%
- TOTAL FMCG 7%
Kantar Worldpanel tracked the shopping behaviour of 3,000 Filipino homes in urban and rural areas across the country from June 2014 to June 2015. It found that 15 out of the 21 categories of products that fall under the personal care megasector grew by a minimum of 5 percent.
“This growth is a clear manifestation of the Filipino shoppers’ high regard for hygiene and beauty products,” Lourdes Deocareza, New Business Development Head, Kantar Worldpanel Philippines said. “In fact, within the personal care megasector, we’ve found that Filipinos are prioritizing skincare products (hand and body lotion, facial care, liquid soap and bar bath soap), hair care products (shampoo, conditioners and treatment) and oral care (toothpaste and toothbrush). In addition, they are also spending more on rising categories namely, wipes, colognes, diapers and deodorants.”
TOP 10 PERSONAL CARE PRODUCT CATEGORIES (TOTAL PHILIPPINES)
- Total wipes
- Colognes
- Liquid soap
- Diapers
- Hand and body lotions
- Deodorants
- Facial care
- Talcum powder
- Toothbrush
- Toothpaste
Furthermore, data from Kantar Worldpanel revealed that all economic classes contributed to the growth of the personal care megasector throughout the year. Class E homes are now open to buying more sophisticated personal care products such as liquid soap, wipes and cosmetics. In addition, penetration of key personal care products increased significantly with 720,000 more homes buying liquid soap and 611,000 more homes purchasing cosmetics.
The winning channels
All distribution channels contributed to the increase in sales of personal care products. Sari-sari stores played a significant role in the rise of personal care spending, accounting for 35 percent of personal care sales, followed by the modern trade channels (composed of supermarkets and hypermarkets) with 34 percent of sales. Grocery stores were the 3rd biggest channel for personal care sales, with 7.7 percent total market share of personal care sales in country. Meanwhile, the direct sales channels and drug stores enjoyed 6.5 percent and 5.8 percent shares of total personal care sales, respectively.
“The increasing interest of Filipino shoppers in personal care does not come as a surprise. This growth is a reflection of the aggressive push of FMCG players to market their products in various platforms, including digital media,” Deocareza explained.