Moms, Young Women Driving Sales Of Home-Use Nail Products – Mintel

Women with children are more likely to use nail polish than those without, according to new research from Mintel. Nail care offers moms an affordable way to keep up with fashion trends, the firm suggests, identifying young women ages 18 to 24 as another demographic driving the category’s growth.

Research from consumer intelligence firm Mintel finds that mothers are a crucial demographic when it comes to sales of home-use nail-care products.

“Moms are an important consumer group that might be tight on time and lack the extra income to spend at a spa but are still looking to treat themselves to some fashion-forward beauty,” Mintel states in a Jan. 30 release.

The firm’s new report, which investigated consumer use of nail polishes, treatments, artificial nails, nail tools and nail polish removers, found that 79% of women with children use colored nail polish versus 65% without children, while 22% of respondents with children reported using artificial nails opposed to only 9% without.

Nearly a quarter of women with children use nail art accessories compared with 11% of women without children, according to Mintel.

Women with children are expected to continue driving sales of nail care, which offers a way for the time-pressed demographic to stay current with fashion trends without breaking a budget, the firm suggests.

“The affordability of nail polish, combined with new products and colors, makes nail care a reasonable splurge,” especially for lower- to middle-income women, Mintel says.

Young women are helping to fuel the category. Use of colored nail polish is highest among women ages 18 to 24, with 85% reporting using the products compared with 71% of survey respondents overall, according to the firm.

Mintel notes that a greater percentage of younger women (under age 35) indicated that they embrace nail polish as a way of expressing their personality and keeping up with fashion. Women between the ages of 35 and 44 tend to view painting their nails as a pampering activity and to reserve it for such occasions.

The Mintel report identifies nail color and care as a category that is thriving despite the sluggish economy. The U.S. market for such products has grown nearly 75% since 2007, with sales estimated at $2.5 billion at the end of 2012. Mintel expects growth in the segment to continue through 2017, “albeit at a slower pace than previous years,” projecting that sales will reach “just over $4 billion.”

Market research firm Kline & Company released a report recently suggesting that nail-care success crossed over to the professional sector in 2012, with salon gel products helping to propel global sales growth of 25% (Also see "Professional Nail Segment Boom Rides On Trends, Technology" - HBW Insight, 21 Jan, 2013.).

New Nail Concepts

Emerging technologies and features in nail care – such as metallic and glitter finishes, polishes that change colors and nail jewels – are sustaining growth in the category.

New entries include Physicians FormulaEndless Color Custom Nail Trios, a line of eight color palettes that can be worn alone or layered together to create different shades and textures.

The trios, which package three stackable bottles togther, include Treat Yourself, Three Shades of Grey, Bare It All, Fashion Icon and In the Nude. They retail for $10.95 each.

Essie has launched new nail applications called Sleek Sticks, which are UV-cured wraps that come in 12 patterns, including Don't Cheetah on Me, Oh My Gold, Steel the Show, and So Haute. Retailing for $10.25 apiece, the wraps are available in drugstores nationwide.

On Jan. 28, Global business information provider Datamonitor identified Tranzitions Nail Lacquer with Hardeners, from American International Industries' China Glaze outfit, as its “Product Launch Analytics Innovation of the Week.”

China Glaze Tranzitions nail color changes color when a top coat is added.

The recently launched collection consists of six shades that can be deepened to a different hue or styled with different effects using a top coat, so consumers have multiple options with a single nail polish, according to a release from the Los Angeles-based company.

Available in shades including Split Perso-Nail-ity and Metallic Metamorphosis, Tranzitions retail for $5.99 apiece.

Datamonitor Innovation Insights Director Tom Vierhile stated in the release that innovations in consumer electronics concepts like “augmented reality” – which enhances a real-world view with sensory input such as sound, graphics or data – are “training consumers to experiment and expect more play value in the products they choose.

“China Glaze Tranzitions delivers on this concept with a product that can turn even the least artistically inclined consumer into a cosmetic artist,” Vierhile concludes.

Professional nail-care brand ORLY launched its answer to chameleonic nail color Jan. 31. New color-changing Gel FX Shade Shifter is a top coat that reacts to changes in temperature to give different looks to the Gel FX color underneath – lightening when the wearer is warm to “magically” reveal the underlying color, and darkening the manicure shade at colder temperatures.

ORLY captures the effect lyrically: “Clear if you’re hot. Dark if you’re not.”

Shade Shifter will roll out to select salons and spas in March.