Cosmetics sales fall 0.3% in Latin America

Confinement, home office, and new cleaning habits caused sales of cosmetics and personal care products to fall 0.3% in Latin America during 2020, according to figures from Euromonitor International. The most affected categories were makeup, fragrances, and sun protection.

Personal care products showed greater resilience, particularly in the bath and shower category, due to increased consumption of hand sanitizers and soaps to comply with measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

Colombia and Peru recorded the steepest declines in sales in the region, with 11% and 12%, respectively. In Chile, despite having similar quarantines to Colombia and Peru, there was a slight growth of 0.2% in sales during 2020, due to a higher degree of digitalization of the sector and direct sales.

Uruguay was the least affected country with an increase of almost 10% during 2020, due to higher inflationary pressure and to the fact that consumers who purchased products in neighboring countries, especially luxury products, were forced to buy in the territory due to border closures.

The industry is expected to recover in 2021, reaching sales levels comparable to 2019, although the fragrance and makeup categories are likely to lag until 2022. This means that the beauty and personal care industry should grow in 2021 at a rate of 8.4% in current terms.

This forecast depends on the speed of vaccination in the countries of the region, the evolution of unemployment rates and purchasing power, as well as the evolution of habits taken in the pandemic. In Mexico, sales of cosmetics and personal care products fell 4.5% in 2020, according to the National Chamber of the Cosmetics Industry.