Hair Styling Appliances - US

Some in the hair styling appliance business have hypothesized that the new spirit of frugality brought on by the recession will motivate women to visit the salon less frequently and take more of their hair styling into their own hands. Indeed, many hair salon owners have reported a downturn in business in recent months. But there is no clear sign yet that fewer trips to the hair stylist are translating automatically into more trips down the hair styling appliance aisle.

What is clear is that motivating shoppers to make discretionary purchases is not particularly easy these days, even when those purchases might be viewed as spending money to save money. Hair styling appliance manufacturers and retailers that want to take advantage of women’s newfound interest in do-it-yourself hair styling will need to work harder than ever.

Scope and Themes

What you need to know

Definition

Data sources

Sales data

Consumer survey data

Advertising creative

Abbreviations and terms

Abbreviations

Terms

Executive Summary

Market at a glance

New technologies have yet to accelerate purchase rate

Flat irons anything but

Economic pressure may turn into an opportunity

Selection and price put mass merchandisers on top

Aging female population shifts category growth opportunities

User base becoming more diverse

Leading companies

Many new products but little differentiation

Advertising and promotion

Ownership

Purchase rate is infrequent and declining

Frequency of use of hair dryers drops slightly

Replacement dominates reasons for purchase

Familiarity the most important factor in hair dryer brand selection

Important hair styling appliance features

Market Size and Forecast

Key points

New technologies have yet to accelerate purchase rate

Flat irons anything but

Economic pressure may turn into an opportunity

Sales and forecast

Figure 1: U.S. sales and forecast of hair styling products, at current prices, 2003-13

Figure 2: U.S. sales and forecast of hair styling products, at inflation-adjusted prices, 2003-13

Competitive Context

The rest of hair care

The economy

Segment Performance

Key points

Sales by segment

Figure 3: U.S. sales of hair styling appliances, by segment, 2006 and 2008

Segment Performance—Hair Dryers

Key points

New products fail to heat up segment

Sales and forecast

Figure 4: U.S. sales and forecast of hair dryers, at current prices, 2003-13

Segment Performance—Other Appliances

Key points

Changing styles and new flat irons drive sales of other appliances

Sales and forecast

Figure 5: U.S. sales of other hair styling appliances, at current prices, 2003-13

Retail Channels

Key points

Selection and price put mass merchandisers on top

Drug stores compete for beauty care dollars

Smaller channels cater to more specialized needs

Sales by channel

Figure 6: U.S. retail sales of hair styling appliances, by channel, 2006 and 2008

Market Drivers

Aging female population shifts category growth opportunities

Figure 7: U.S. female population, 2003-13

User base becoming more diverse

Figure 8: Population, by race and Hispanic origin, 2003-13

Leading Companies

Key points

Conair a pioneer and still the leader

Helen of Troy

Spectrum Brands (Remington)

Manufacturer sales

Figure 9: Manufacturer estimated sales of hair styling appliances in the U.S., 2006 and 2008

Brand Qualities

Different companies take different approaches to branding

Conair focuses primarily on its own brand

Helen of Troy manages a stable of licensed brands

Remington name anchors several distinct product lines

Innovation and Innovators

Many new products but little differentiation

New materials for negative ions

Innovation by combination

Conditioners built into appliances

New green line from Vidal Sassoon

CHI brings advanced technologies to hair styling

Advertising and Promotion

Overview

Conair ads focus on Infiniti to support the overall brand

Figure 10: Conair Infiniti Cord-Keeper TV ad, 2009

Figure 11: Conair Infiniti Steam Straightener TV ad, 2009

Figure 12: Conair Infiniti Hair Designer Pro hair dryer TV ad, 2009

Remington leverages celebrity endorsements

Usage

Key points

Ownership highest for hair dryers

Figure 13: Ownership of specific hair/beauty appliances, by age, February 2009

Figure 14: Ownership of specific hair/beauty appliances, by household income, February 2009

Purchase rate is infrequent and declining

Figure 15: Purchase of specific hair/beauty appliances, by age, February 2009

Mass merchants dominate sales of dryers

Figure 16: Where last hair dryer was bought, by age, February 2009

Figure 17: Where last “other hair appliance” was bought, by appliance, February 2009

Frequency of use of hair dryers drops slightly

Figure 18: Frequency of hair dryer use, by age, February 2009

Figure 19: Frequency of hair dryer use, by household income, February 2009

Use of curling irons drops among younger women

Figure 20: Frequency of curling iron use, by age, February 2009

Most other appliances used infrequently

Figure 21: Frequency of use of various hair styling appliances, by type of appliance, February 2009

Hair Type and Salon Visiting

Key points

Natural hair type/style

Figure 22: Natural hair style, by age, February 2009

Salon visits

Figure 23: Frequency of visiting the hair salon, by age, February 2009

Figure 24: Frequency of visiting the hair salon, by household income, February 2009

Attitudes and Motivations

Replacement dominates reasons for purchase

Figure 25: Reasons for purchasing hair styling appliances, by age, February 2009

Familiarity the most important factor in hair dryer brand selection

Figure 26: Factors influencing latest hair dryer brand purchase, by age, February 2009

The importance of brand selection factors varies for other appliances

Figure 27: Factors influencing latest “other hair appliance” brand purchase, February 2009

Important hair styling appliance features

Figure 28: Importance of hair styling appliance attributes, by age, February 2009

Impact of Race and Hispanic Origin

Hair styling appliance ownership

Figure 29: Ownership of hair/beauty appliances, by race/Hispanic origin, February 2009

Where purchased

Figure 30: Where last hair dryer was bought, by race/Hispanic origin, February 2009

Frequency of dryer usage

Figure 31: Frequency of hair dryer use, by race/Hispanic origin, February 2009

Natural hair type/style

Figure 32: Natural hair style, by race/Hispanic origin, February 2009

OTHER USEFUL CONSUMER TABLES

Appliance purchase

Figure 33: Purchase of hair/beauty appliances, by household income, February 2009

Figure 34: Purchase of hair/beauty appliances, by race/Hispanic origin, February 2009

Source of purchase

Figure 35: Where last hair styling appliance was bought, by household income, February 2009

Figure 36: Where last hair styling appliance was bought, by race/Hispanic origin, February 2009

Frequency of use: By specific hair styling appliances

Figure 37: Frequency of curling iron use, by race/Hispanic origin, February 2009

Figure 38: Frequency of flat iron use, by race/Hispanic origin, February 2009

Figure 39: Frequency of curling iron use, by household income, February 2009

Factors influencing brand purchase: By specific hair styling appliances

Figure 40: Factors influencing latest hair dryer brand purchase, by household income, February 2009

Figure 41: Factors influencing latest hair dryer brand purchase, by race/Hispanic origin, February 2009

Figure 42: Factors influencing latest curling iron brand purchase, by household income, February 2009

Figure 43: Factors influencing latest curling iron brand purchase, by race/Hispanic origin, February 2009

Importance of hair styling appliance attributes

Figure 44: Importance of hair styling appliance attributes, by household income, February 2009

Figure 45: Importance of hair styling appliance attributes, by race/Hispanic origin, February 2009

Frequency of coloring hair

Figure 46: Frequency of coloring hair, by age, February 2009

Figure 47: Frequency of coloring hair, by household income, February 2009

Frequency of visiting hair salon

Figure 48: Frequency of visiting the hair salon, by age, February 2009

Figure 49: Frequency of visiting the hair salon, by household income, February 2009

Style and length of hair

Figure 50: Style of hair, by household income, February 2009

Figure 51: Length of hair, by age, February 2009

Figure 52: Length of hair, by household income, February 2009

APPENDIX: TRADE ASSOCIATIONS