Has the lipstick effect worn off?

In a recession, consumers tend to buy cheaper care products and cosmetics as purchasing power dwindles.

But the cosmetics industry is facing an unprecedented slowdown in sales growth as the pandemic has caused most people to work from home, which has greatly reduced the need to use cosmetics.

The impact was significant.

The "lipstick effect" hit.

The lipstick effect, also known as the Lipstick index, first appeared in the book The OverConsuming American by Juliet Schor, a sociology professor at Boston University.

According to the theory, in the face of economic recession.

Even if they still buy and spend luxury goods, consumers prefer cheap luxury goods and cosmetics, such as lipstick and facial masks, rather than fur coats.

Of course, the lipstick effect is not limited to cosmetics such as lipstick, but also affects products such as bread and chocolate, which are cheaper than lipstick, within the budget.

And consumers can get enough satisfaction from them.

Reduce the cost of maintenance products.

High inflation and a lingering recession have failed to spur impulse buying this year, according to Bloomberg.

In America, sales of facial-care products fell by 2.1% in the year to early October, although inflation could push up sales.

In Europe, more than 20% of consumers are expected to cut their spending on care products over the next month, according to McKinsey, a consultancy.

This can also be attributed to differences in economic and social circumstances between the current recession and past events such as 9/11 and the 2008 financial crisis.

One of the biggest differences is "isolation" -- the proportion of people who Work from home is on the rise, with few signs of decline, eliminating the need for frequent use of cosmetics and care products to get to work.

There is, of course, the facemask factor, but that factor only affected the first few months of the outbreak.

Now there are almost no masks left in many countries.

No longer the "lipstick" effect.

TheGuardian reports that compared with the quiet sales of lipsticks and care products, things that can also provide satisfaction, which at first glance have nothing to do with the lipstick effect, are profiting greatly from the pandemic.

In the UK, a family of four can go bowling together for just 20 euros.

Being one of the most affordable entertainment options in the midst of a major economic downturn, Hollywood Bowl, a bowling association in the United Kingdom, has confirmed that the demand for bowling is clearly on the rise.

The same goes for supermarket chocolate instead of expensive afternoon tea and so on, which is an extension of the lipstick effect.