Hairy and bearded hipsters: sales of shaving products down among Australian men

One would have to live in a cave or serve in the armed forces not to notice that the number of Australian men with beards, mustaches and / or sideburns is increasing. And with fundraising, the growing month of Movember month almost upon us, things should get even tougher. But is this pursuit of the shaggy just a passing fad or is it a threat to sales of shaving products?

The latest data from Roy Morgan Research shows that sales of these products have indeed been declining and have been steadily declining over the past five years. In the year to June 2013, 11.9% of Australian men aged 14 and over purchased shaving soaps or foams in an average period of four weeks – in the year up to in June 2009, this figure was 14.2%.

This downward trend is constant for most ages, with young men under 25 representing the largest proportional drop: from 9.3% of purchases of these products in 2009 to 6.2% in June 2013. Shaving also declined in popularity among men aged 25-34, 10.2% of them purchased shaving soaps or foams in a given four-week period (up from 13.4% in 2009), but even those 50 and over experienced a decline.

Australian men who purchased shaving soaps / foams in the past 4 weeks (by age)

Source: Roy Morgan Single Source (Australia), July 2008 – June 2009 (n = 8,479) and July 2012 – June 2013 (n = 8,830). Base: Australians 14+

Teens under the age of 18 were the only group to see an increase in purchases of these products, but it remains to be seen whether this trend will continue as they mature.

Across states, sales fell the most in Victoria (from 13.8% of males to 10.6%) and New South Wales (from 14.9% to 11.9%), but increased from 9.5% to 12.4% in Tasmania.

Razor sales are also down among Australian men, with 17.1% having purchased disposable razors in an average period of four weeks in the 12 months to June 2013, up from 19.4% in 2009.

Norman Morris, Director of Industry Communications (bearded), Roy Morgan Research, says:

“With beards and mustaches becoming fashionable for the first time in decades, fewer and fewer men are buying shaving products such as foams, soaps and razors. Interestingly, this drop in sales is affecting most age groups, as the fashion for facial hair seems to have been adopted mostly by younger men.

“Of course, many men leave the purchase of shaving products to their wives, girlfriends (or, in the case of our younger respondents, their mothers). But even taking this into account, overall sales of shaving products have declined. In 2009, for example, 11.1% of the population – men and women – bought shaving soaps or foams, but in June 2013 that figure had risen to 8.8%.

“The popularity of the beard among prominent celebrities such as Hugh Jackman and Brad Pitt has almost certainly contributed to the facial hair revival, as has Movember, a popular fundraising initiative in which men grow hair. mustaches during the month of November to raise funds. for research on men’s health.

“To keep up with this trend, manufacturers and distributors of men’s shaving products need to make sure they know who in their target market is still buying their products and tailor their communications accordingly. “

For comments or more information, please contact:

Norman Morris
Director of industrial communication
Office: +61 (3) 9224 5172
Mobile: +61 402 014 474
Email: Norman.Morris@roymorgan.com

Related research reports

View our extensive range of personal product buyer profiles, including shaving soap or foam buyer profiles, men’s aftershave / cologne buyer profiles, and more . These profiles provide a broad understanding of the target audience, in terms of demographics, attitudes, activities and media usage in Australia.

About Roy Morgan Research

Roy Morgan Research is Australia’s largest independent research firm, with offices in every state in Australia, as well as New Zealand, the United States and the United Kingdom. A full-service research organization specializing in omnibus and syndicated data, Roy Morgan Research has over 70 years of experience in collecting objective and independent consumer information.

In Australia, Roy Morgan Research is considered the authoritative source of information on financial behavior, readership, voting intentions and consumer confidence. Roy Morgan Research is a specialist in personalized contact surveys that provide invaluable and effective qualitative and quantitative information on customers and target markets.

Margin of error

The margin of error to be expected in any estimate depends mainly on the number of interviews on which it is based. The margin of error gives an indication of the probable range within which the estimates would be likely to lie at 95%, expressed as the number of percentage points above or below the actual estimate. Design effects (such as stratification and weighting) should be taken into account where applicable.

Sample size	Percent Estimate
	40% -60%	25% or 75%	10% or 90%	5% or 95%
5,000	± 1.4	± 1.2	± 0.8	± 0.6
7,500	± 1.1	± 1.0	± 0.7	± 0.5
10,000	± 1.0	± 0.9	± 0.6	± 0.4
20,000	± 0.7	± 0.6	± 0.4	± 0.3
50,000	± 0.4	± 0.4	± 0.3	± 0.2