0.3% sale of cosmetics falls in Latin America by pandemic

Confinement, Home Office and new cleaning habits caused sales of cosmetics and personal care products to fall 0.3% in Latin America for 2020, according to Euromonitor International figures.

The most affected categories were makeup, fragrances and sun protection.

On the other hand, personal care products showed greater resilience, particularly the bath and shower category, due to the increase in the consumption of hand and soap sanitizers to meet the measures to avoid the spread of COVID-19.

Colombia and Peru registered the most pronounced falls in sales in the region, with 11% and 12%, each.

In Chile, despite having quarantines similar to those of Colombia and Peru, there was a slight growth of 0.2% in sales during 2020, due to a greater degree of digitalization of the sector and direct sale.

Uruguay was the least affected country with an increase of almost 10% for 2020, due to greater inflationary pressure and that consumers who acquired products in neighboring countries, especially luxury products, were forced to buy in the territory before the closureof borders.

"The industry is expected to be recovered in 2021, reaching sales levels comparable to 2019, although the categories of fragrances and makeup are possibly lagged to 2022," said Carmen Silva, an analyst at Euromonitor International.

This means that the beauty and personal care industry should grow in 2021 at a rate of 8.4% in current terms.

However, this prognosis depends on the speed of vaccination in the countries of the region, on the evolution of unemployment and purchasing power rates, as well as the evolution of habits taken in the pandemic.

In Mexico, the sale of cosmetics and personal care products fell 4.5% in 2020, according to the National Chamber of the Cosmetic Products Industry.