HCM CITY — The Vietnamese beauty market saw stable growth last year, with a year-on-year increase of 4 per cent, and is expected to thrive in the years to come.

About 20 million women aged 15 to 39, or 40 per cent of the female population, are potential consumers, according to a recent Kantar Worldpanel report on the national cosmetics sector.

The report said that 80 per cent of consumers in affluent cities bought at least one product last year, with one-quarter of personal care revenue from the beauty sector.

Women from southern provinces had more purchase intentions than those from the North, with the bestselling items facial cleansing products, sunscreens and lip balms.

Consumers below 20 years old tend to buy cleansers on their first beauty shopping trip.

Vietnamese spend less than Thai consumers on beauty products, but the figure is expected to increase as people are becoming more educated about skincare.

Consumers no longer have to rely on traditional marketing channels, including TV and newspapers, to get information. They can keep abreast of the latest beauty trends via the internet, celebrities, beauty bloggers and others.

“I’m pleasantly surprised to see more people, even young girls and teenagers, get interested in beauty-related information provided in my videos. Some even texted me privately to ask for skincare advice,” Chloe Nguyễn, a beauty blogger, told Việt Nam News.

In addition, financially independent women are the biggest spenders, according to the report. The more successful they are, the more effort they put into perfecting their appearance.

Higher-income women buy more products. Hence, despite people’s tendency to buy cheap or discounted products, high-end makeup and skincare products continue to attract more consumers.

Fabrice Carrasco, director of Kantar Wordpanel in Việt Nam, Indonesia and the Philippines, said that beauty products accounted for half of the goods that consumers in four major cities in Việt Nam had purchased online. — VNS