The Untapped Opportunity for Men's Personal Care Services

• by Thomas Barzizza , Yesterday

Chances are you probably didn't buy the dad or the recent college grad in your life a spa trip – but they might have enjoyed the facial more than the grill brush or Best Buy certificate you went with.

Changing definitions of masculinity are impacting men’s personal care routines. And Unilever and Bath & Body Works’ profitable business results prove the commercial viability of male-focused products as growth drivers.

Despite this prominent uptick in male-focused marketing from CPG brands and retailers, we’re not seeing a comparable rise in male-focused marketing in the personal care services category. Broadly, the personal care services category includes facials, eyebrow shaping, manicures/pedicures, waxing, hair coloring and injectables like Botox.

The results of our research on men’s use of personal care services ran counter to our initial hypothesis that a small but mighty percentage of the general male population engages with personal care services and uses them frequently.  Instead, we found:

• 70% of all men ages 18-50 engaged in at least one personal care service in the past two years. This equates to a large, addressable audience -- over 50 million men!
• The average number of services reported is 3.2, meaning men aren’t just getting the occasional manicure or pedicure.
• Women are key influencers, starting with initial awareness and providing guidance throughout the shopping process.

As in most categories, differences exist among this large audience’s behavior -- from heavy users who engaged with 4+ services in the last 24 months, to occasional users who engaged with 1-3 services in the last 24 months.

These segments differ by demographic and media consumption patterns, but more consequentially, differences emerge in their motivations for using these services.

Here are a few opportunities for marketers to act:

Messaging to occasional users should emphasize emotional benefits. Occasional users say “enhancing appearance” and “improving skin” are important motivations. However, occasional users are more motivated by the emotional benefits, such as “treating myself,” “confidence boost” and “relaxation," as compared to the heavy user segment.

 Drive more foot traffic into locations by prompting trial with messaging that reflects these emotional drivers.

Enlist women to drive growth with men. While wives and girlfriends are the greatest sources of service awareness, the combined female influence is even more impressive when we also consider female friends and family. Over 45% of all men surveyed referenced a female awareness source. Females also cracked the top-three educational resources, cited by 24% of men overall.  

Target a wider group of women with referral rewards in various types of relationships, whether romantic partners, siblings or parents.

Subscriptions generate steady engagement. Thirty percentof heavy users, who would be open to purchasing a recurring subscription membership, are currently without one. Men regard not having to pay “per-service” or getting a product discount as key motivators for engaging with a subscription or membership. And they cited as an emotional benefit the desire “to feel part of a members-only, private club.” 

Make sure there is a clear, compelling financial value proposition for joining your subscription or membership program.

By employing any or all of these strategies, personal services brands have the opportunity to take advantage of an untapped market and unlock new revenue sources in 2024 and beyond.