Did you know that Australians spend a whopping $22 billion on beauty products a year? And that a large share of it goes on men’s grooming products?
If this piqued your interest and you want to learn more fascinating Australian beauty industry statistics, take a look at the facts and figures we compiled below.
10 Captivating Cosmetic Industry Stats
- In Australia, the beauty market had an estimated revenue of $7,756 million in 2021.
- Aussies spend roughly $22 billion on beauty products every year.
- Women in Australia usually spend about $3,600 on the beauty industry every year.
- The Personal Care segment is the most prominent beauty industry sector in Australia.
- Online shopping has taken up 36.1% of all beauty sales in 2021.
- In 2019, 33% of beauty buyers online liked or followed a beauty brand.
- The majority of Australian employers in the beauty industry are women.
- The employment level for beauty therapists reached its peak in 2019, with a share of 41.8%.
- Hair salon revenue increased by 84% due to COVID-19 restrictions.
- 46% of Australian women would avoid cosmetic products if they were involved in animal testing.
An Overview of the Beauty Industry in Australia
1. In Australia, the beauty market had an estimated revenue of $7,756 million.
(Statista)
After going through a minor income fall in 2020, the market got back on its feet the following year. As revenue increased to a staggering $8.601 million in 2022, predictions reveal an even bigger growth in profit in the next few years. Actually, the beauty industry’s size should go up by 3.10% between 2022 and 2026.
2. Aussies spend roughly $22 billion on beauty products every year.
(Mozo, Beauty Packaging)
A lot of cash flows into Australia’s beauty market. For example, Australians spent a substantial amount of $888,405,000 on beauty imports in 2018 alone. And it’s not just beauty salons and cosmetics brands that get their share of the profit—Aussies spend around $1 billion on cosmetic procedures a year.
3. Women in Australia usually spend about $3,600 on the beauty industry every year.
(Beauty Packaging, Roy Morgan, Mozo)
Women are still the leading target group for cosmetic brands in Australia as 2.1 million millennial women report that they buy new skincare products every six months. While women spend an astonishing $15 billion a year on grooming products, men layout 7 billion dollars.
Australian beauty statistics unveil that over one million millennial men also use beauty products. Out of them, around 16% buy make-up products, but they usually don’t spend money as lavishly as Aussie women do.
What’s more, 16% of men splurge on manicures and pedicures, spending around $736 million a year, which is still lower than the $1.3 billion women dish out on nail care.
4. Queensland is the biggest market for the cosmetic industry in Australia.
(Beauty Packaging)
Although all Australians generally show an affinity towards grooming and beauty, one region is more invested in vanity than others. Queensland takes up the top of the list with annual spending of $989 per person. South Australia is not so far from the top, as Aussies from that region spend $986 on beauty products yearly, followed by New South Wales with a significant expenditure of 934 dollars per capita.
5. The Personal Care segment is the most prominent beauty industry sector in Australia.
(Statista)
The personal care industry revenue has been slowly growing. In 2021, it noted revenue of $3,391 million, with an estimated growth of 5.8% in the next four years, i.e. income is expected to reach $3,737 million by 2026.
Out of the personal care sector, personal hygiene products are most in-demand, with a share of 80%, and oral and dental care is just right behind with 78%.
6. Revenue from skincare stands at $2,112.2 million in 2022.
(Statista)
Skincare statistics suggest that products from this segment gain the most interest, as they generated revenue of $1,905 million, estimated in 2021. Fragrances made an income of $853 million in 2021, while the market is envisioned to grow annually by 2.37% CAGR over the next few years. Cosmetic products also did very well, raking in an estimated $1,607 million in 2021.
7. The market size for Cosmetics and Toiletry Wholesaling in Australia has been estimated at $8 billion.
(IBISWorld)
IBISWorld reveals that Australia’s Cosmetics and Toiletry Wholesaling industry has boomed in the last five years. Showing an income growth of 2.7%, analytics foresee the revenue rising to 8.2 billion dollars.
Beauty Market Overview
8. Online shopping has taken up 36.1% of all beauty sales in 2021.
(Statista)
Cosmetic industry statistics show that more shoppers are getting into eCommerce, as there’s been a change since 2017, when the number of people who were buying beauty products online was very low, at about 22.5%. In 2022, there are more online shoppers than ever, with a share of 39.8%. As modern technology takes over, calculations foresee an even bigger jump in electronic purchasing of cosmetic products, as the number will probably reach 52.4%.
9. 1.2 million Australian women buy their make-up products at Priceline pharmacy.
(Roy Morgan)
Although online shopping has been a trend in the last few years, Aussies continue to purchase cosmetic products in physical stores. Cosmetic industry stats show that 24.9% of women in Australia buy their products from supermarkets, with Coles and Woolworths being the most popular options, while 23.3% buy them from their local Priceline pharmacy.
Only 14.5% of women buy beauty products from the Chemist Warehouse and 9.8% get a good bargain out of discount department stores.
10. In 2019, 33% of beauty buyers online liked or followed a beauty brand.
(We Are Social)
According to Australian beauty industry statistics:
- 41% of cosmetic product consumers discover new brands through social media profiles;
- 33% have liked or followed a brand,
- 23% have clicked on a promoted or sponsored link
In addition, many Aussies interacted with beauty brands’ social media posts, as 19% have written messages to ask a question and 18% have shared their content. There is also a rise of all online beauty brands that use celebrities and influencers for marketing purposes, which never fails to get people’s attention.
11. Aussies pick L’oreal as their first choice beauty brand.
(Statista)
The number of beauty brands keeps rising, but people in Australia stay loyal to their favourite brand, as 11.92% of consumers said that they prefer using L’oreal products. Revlon is another cosmetics brand that Australians love, with a share of 8.32% of respondents putting it into the second spot of a 2019 survey. In third place comes MAC Cosmetics, with a percentage of 7.19%.
12. Nude by Nature is one of the most popular Australian beauty brands.
(Statista, Roy Morgan)
Even though global brands like MAC and Maybelline dominate the beauty industry market, 58.94% of shoppers go for other companies as their top choice. Cosmetic market research by Roy Morgan suggests that 23% of Aussie women who buy beauty products pick Australian beauty and personal care products from a homegrown brand. Nude by Nature is at the top of the list, with Napoleon and Natio right behind.
Aussie women usually buy local brands to contribute to the animal rights movement, as Australian make-up brands put a lot of effort into creating cruelty-free skincare and make-up products.
Employment in the Beauty Industry
13. The majority of Australian employers in the beauty industry are women.
(Statista, Women’s Agenda)
Like Healthcare and Education, beauty is a female-dominated sector. In fact, the latest survey shows that 48.81% of full-time employees and 49.79% of Australia’s part-time employed beauty therapists are women. Only 0.69% of men working in the personal care industry are full-time employees, and 0.71% are part-time employees.
Further beauty and hairdressing industry statistics from Australia show that 35,000 businesses that offer such service employ 80,000 people, and out of them, only 3% are men as women dominate the workforce with 97%.
14. 35.8% of beauty therapists in Australia are between the ages of 25 and 34.
(Statista)
Millennials are most interested in getting into the beauty industry’s workforce, as 35.8% of them are employed as beauty therapists. Young adults from the age of 20 to 24 are also willing to work in beauty services, as they take up 20% of the workforce in beauty therapy. Australians aged 35-44 are close, occupying 18.6% of the employment rates.
15. Half of the beauty-related qualifications in Australia were delivered by TAFE institutes.
(Australian Industry and Skills Committee)
In 2020, 21.490 Aussies enrolled in beauty-related programs. The Australian Industry and Skills Committee reveals that 55% of beauty enrolments have a certificate III and 26% are at a higher qualification level or have a diploma. Half of the qualifications were delivered by TAFE institutes, while private training providers had 39%.
TAFE institutes mainly hand over make-up and beauty services qualifications, while private training providers offer laser hair removal, beauty therapy, and nail care technology qualifications.
16. 34% of people in beauty program enrolments are interested in getting a job in the beauty therapist industry.
(Australian Industry and Skills Committee)
According to the information collected by the Australian Industry and Skills Committee, beauty therapy, hairdressing, make-up artistry and massage therapy are the most sought-after jobs in the beauty industry, with JustCuts, one of the biggest franchises in Australia, being the number one employer.
Beauty therapy takes up 34% of enrolments in beauty programs, followed by beauty services with 29% and make-up with 16%.
17. The employment level for beauty therapists reached its peak in 2019, with a share of 41.8%.
(Australian Industry and Skills Committee)
After beauty therapy employment levels reached their highest point, Covid-19 crashed the employment rates down to 20.4%. The numbers once again improved the following year with a percentage of 35.8%, which is expected to reach 50.7% by 2025.
Beauty Industry Trends
18. Hair salon revenue increased by 84% due to COVID-19 restrictions.
(Kitomba)
The COVID-19 restrictions impacted the spending spree in a lot of beauty and personal care sectors in 2021, including hair care, make-up services, and massages. Namely, in the fourth quarter of last year, hair salons expanded their revenue by 84%, while beauty salons rapidly delivered an upturn in income by 112% compared to the same quarter in 2020.
19. 46% of Australian women would avoid cosmetic products if they were involved in animal testing.
(Roy Morgan)
In the last few years, there has been a shift in the way the public reacts to unethical practices in the beauty industry. In 2012 only 39% of Aussie women considered ‘not tested on animals’ an important feature when choosing which skincare brand to buy from, while the latest survey results show that number has gone up to 46%.
Nude by Nature has increased its likelihood of purchase by 61.2% because of the brand’s tendency to produce cruelty-free and vegan cosmetics.
Before You Get Your Beauty Sleep
Australian beauty industry statistics show that the market is stronger than ever before. And while online shopping for beauty products has still not reached the capacity of other eCommerce markers, it is poised to take over as the dominant sales channel opening even more opportunities for cosmetic brands, such as beauty subscription services, the use of AI and delivery of personalised skincare products.
FAQs:
1. How many beauty businesses are there in Australia?
(IBISWorld, Women’s Agenda)
According to IBISWorld, there are 33,520 Hairdressing and Beauty Services in Australia, although other research puts the number closer to 35,000.
2. Which country has the largest beauty industry?
(Statista)
The US is the biggest market for cosmetics, generating $113,036 in 2022, followed by China ($77,961) and Japan ($53,932).
3. How much did the beauty industry make in 2020?
(Terakeet)
Total worldwide beauty industry spending was US$483 billion in 2020.
4. How much is the beauty industry worth?
(Terakeet)
The global beauty industry is expected to increase at a rate of 4.75%, generating an incredible $716 billion by 2025.
5. How big is the beauty market in Australia?
(Statista)
Judging by the latest Australian beauty industry statistics, the industry’s revenue rose by 10.9% in 2022, quickly recovering from the devastating blow of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Sources:
- Australian Industry and Skills Committee
- Beauty Packaging
- IBISWorld
- IBISWorld
- Kitomba
- Mozo
- Roy Morgan
- Roy Morgan
- Statista
- Statista
- Statista
- Statista
- Statista
- Statista
- Statista
- Statista
- Statista
- Statista
- Terakeet
- We Are Social
- Women’s Agenda
