Refillable Beauty - part 3 - Consumers Expectations & Attitudes

We've been listening, reading, and watching what is happening on social media to understand what consumers think about refillable beauty. We saw more discussions surrounding packaging and the waste associated with it, so here is a snapshot of what people make of refillable packaging.

We've been listening, reading, and watching what is happening on social media to understand what consumers think about refillable beauty. We saw more discussions surrounding packaging and the waste associated with it, so here is a snapshot of what people make of refillable packaging.

The market trends

A recent survey by Global Data (published Dec. 2022) reveals that  Most consumers (67%) find packaging that is refillable/reusable to be extremely or quite important, even more so than plastic free packaging (64%) which has been in the spotlight in recent years.

Also, Many consumers wish to only purchase from brands whose practices align with their own personal beliefs and values, for example, their desire to mitigate their carbon footprint.

The survey reveals there are opportunities for brands who wish to experiment with refillable packaging in Central and South America as well as Asia and Australasia, as these are places where it would be most welcomed.

There is equally strong support for refillable packaging among older generations (Gen Y, Gen X, Boomers, Silent Generation). This packaging type is important to half of Gen Z (aged 12 to 26). As a result of the breadth of these captive consumer markets, beauty brands are incentivized to align with sustainable principles in order to attract and retain loyal customers and elevate their sustainability credentials.

Covid led consumers to call into question the hygiene of reusable packaging. Despite this, GlobalData’s survey reveals most global consumers (68%) are confident about the hygiene of refillable packaging. The pandemic also saw a resurgence of single-use plastics, and 64% of global consumers regard this packaging type to be ‘extremely or quite important’. However, this is lower compared to the 67% of consumers who prioritise refillable packaging.

Attitudes towards refills

A survey conducted to its Instagram followers by SamByTheCounter reveals that only 15% of beauty consumers are buying refillable products. It’s worth noting that these consumers are most probably beauty aficionados, and explaining that they’d rather buy the latest new product on the market rather than buy again, as they would feel stuck with a brand.

Sam claims to be “ *highly* suspicious that refills are doing anything but distracting”.

They also think that refills work mostly for highly reused products like hand soap, shower gel or shampoo.