AUSTRALIAN women have gravitated to pharmacies for their cosmetic purchases, despite the proliferation of international chains setting up store across the country and online, according to new data from Roy Morgan Research released this week.
Between 2006 and 2016, the overall proportion of Australian women buying cosmetics in an average six months has remained fairly stable, said the report, barely shifting from 51.5% to 50.5% in the 10 year period.
However, there have been some noteworthy changes around where they purchase them, with pharmacies (19.1%, up from 15.1%) and, to a much lesser extent, supermarkets and department stores gaining popularity.
In contrast, fewer women are now buying cosmetics from discount department stores than they were in 2006, the research revealed.
The big winner has been Priceline with around 840,000 Australian women choosing their last make-up purchase there, making it by far the most popular cosmetic pharmacy.
Of the supermarkets, Coles is the most popular for cosmetics, with nearly 600,000 Australian women making their last purchase there, just ahead of Woolworths at 565,000.
Priceline's success is attributed to their digital development with their Instagram feed being heavily cosmetics-focused and their website offering a dedicated "Beauty School" section containing videos and step-by-step lessons.
Priceline's free personalised consultations with beauty advisors also fulfil what has proved to be an important niche in the market, a Roy Morgan spokesperson commented.
The above article was sent to subscribers in Pharmacy Daily's issue from 26 May 17
To see the full newsletter, see the embedded issue below or CLICK HERE to download Pharmacy Daily from 26 May 17
