Deep Dive

Gen X Beauty Shopping Highlights

Gen X browses and buys beauty products in ways that are different from any other generation. Here’s an overview of where they’re shopping for beauty products, how much they’re spending across channels, and what factors are fueling their purchase behavior. 

Gen X Beauty Budgets

In today’s economic environment, many consumers are cutting back on discretionary spending. Yet, Gen X beauty budgets remain strong. 

Total Monthly Beauty Spending (Online + In-Store)
Roughly how much money do you spend on beauty products TOTAL per month?
$0
0.25%
$1-$50
20%
$51-$100
30.75%
$101-$200
27%
$201-$500
18%
$500+
4%
Monthly Online Beauty Spend
$0
7%
$1-$50
38%
$51-$100
27%
$101-$200
17%
$201-$500
9%
$500+
2%
Monthly In-Store Beauty Spend
$0
3%
$1-$50
45%
$51-$100
27%
$101-$200
16%
$201-$500
7%
$500+
2%

Gen X’s Openness to New Beauty Products

Gen X’ers have beauty products they buy over and over again. But they’re also giving new products a try. 

of Gen X are at least somewhat likely to buy a new beauty product in the same transaction as a habitual beauty product.
0 %
Most Common Websites/Stores Used by Gen X’ers to Research or Buy New-to-Them Beauty Products
A specialty beauty retailer's website (Ulta.com, Sephora.com etc)
63%
A brand's website (BenefitCosmetics.com, Glossier.com etc)
54%
Amazon.com
53%
Speciality beauty retailer store (Ulta, Sephora etc)
44%
A mass retailer's website (Target.com, Walmart.com etc)
35%

Top Purchase Considerations for Gen X’ers

Gen X’ers consider many factors when weighing beauty purchase decisions. But ratings and reviews come in at #1. 

Top Factors Gen X’ers Consider When Deciding Whether to Buy a Beauty Product
Which of the following do you CONSIDER when it comes to making decisions on whether to buy beauty products?
Customer Ratings and Reviews
88%
Recommendations from friends/family
65%
Customer photos and videos
58%
Search results on retail sites (e.g. Amazon.com or Ulta.com)
31%
In-store recommendations from store specialists
30%
Results on Google and similar search engines
28%
Instagram
27%
Tiktok
21%

How Gen X Beauty Shoppers Interact with UGC

Gen X shoppers depend on user-generated content, whether they’re shopping for beauty products online, in-store, or a combination of the two. 

read ratings and reviews when shopping for beauty products online.
0 %
read ratings and reviews when shopping in-store.
0 %
seek out photos and videos submitted by other consumers when shopping for beauty products online.
0 %
read customer Q&A when shopping for beauty products online.
0 %

How Gen X’s Values Impact Their Beauty Shopping Behavior

Increasingly, consumers seek out brands whose values align with theirs. Gen X beauty shoppers are no exception. 

feel it’s important that a beauty product is “clean.”
0 %
think it’s important that a beauty product is vegan.
0 %
feel it’s important that a beauty brand is Black-owned.
0 %