International perspective

According to data compiled by Nielsen for 69 countries, including Hungary, retail sales of body care products grew by 5 per cent world-wide last year. One of the reasons for this increase is that consumers continue to focus on health and convenience. Similar motives exist behind changes in habits concerning the purchasing of food. The dominant international trend is that skin care products account for the largest part of sales in this category. This is partly due to the fact that average life expectancy is growing and also to consumers being increasingly aware of the hazards of exposure to solar radiation. As a result, sales of re-hydrating creams, lotions and sun lotions are expanding. Seven groups of products achieved growth that was twice bigger than the average rate, with massage creams and oils being the most dynamic. The biggest categories with annual sales of over USD 15 billion are toilette paper and paper Nappies, where sales show an increase of 5 per cent. Growth for above USD 10 billion categories like shampoo and toothpaste was also 5 per cent. Sales only showed decline of 2-5 per cent in four categories. Developing countries showed the most dynamic growth at 11 per cent, while this figure was 4 per cent for Europe. In a number of cultures, there is a substantial pressure on consumers to look attractive.