Aussie consumers picking up cosmetics like groceries

The market researcher reports that the year to June 2014, 25.6% of women bought their make-up from a supermarket in any given six-month period, while one in every five (20.0%) purchased theirs from a chemist.

Both figures are up on the same time in 2010: supermarkets, especially, have made strong inroads over the last four years (up from 20.9%).

Make-up shopping at discount stores such as Target, Big W and Kmart declined in this time (from 14.1% to 12.0%), as has the percentage of women buying their cosmetics at Priceline stores in an average six months (from 15.4% to 13.6%).
 
Where Australian women buy their make-up​

At 11.8%, the proportion of women who buy their make-up at Myer is the highest it has been since May 2011. David Jones, meanwhile, remains static around the 5% mark.

According to the market researcher's general manager of consumer products, Geoffrey Smith; "Although it might at first glance seem odd, supermarkets have been the leading channel for purchasing cosmetics for more than a decade."​

For women with busy lifestyles and multiple commitments, buying their make-up at the same place as their groceries cuts out the need for a separate visit to another shop and saves them precious time.

Accounting for the vast majority of women who buy their cosmetics at the supermarket, Woolworths and Coles stock a wide range of stores’-own and big-name brands. Both chains stock Covergirl and Rimmel cosmetics as well as Australia’s top-selling make-up brand, Maybelline.

Coles also offers a selection from upcoming Aussie brand Nude by Nature, while Woollies has cult brand ModelCo.

“Myer is attracting a higher proportion of make-up shoppers than it has for some time; in fact, Myer CEO Bernie Brookes recently identified cosmetics as one of the department store’s strongest categories," says Smith.​

“Bearing in mind that value for money is the factor most women consider important when buying make-up, retailers that offer cosmetics at a reasonable price have the advantage in this crowded and competitive market,​” he concludes.