Market Insights

Wearing a Mask Increases the Demand for Facial Cleansers & Toners

Shawn Matthew Dec 17, 2020

It is part of the ritual of walking outside of your house. You do the physical check before you walk out the door. Keys? Wallet? Phone? But 2020 has included a new question we ask ourselves before stepping out: Mask? While we have adjusted to this added element of our routine, all of that masking up has a serious consequence that many did not see coming: “Maskne.” The combination of sweat, heat, and fabric pressed onto our face from wearing a mask has made it so that we are more susceptible to oily and sweaty skin. As a result, consumers are increasingly looking for facial cleansers and toners on the Amazon marketplace to help address this issue. For companies selling these products on Amazon, there is a tremendous opportunity to get your product into the hands of new consumers. 

Before getting into the numbers, it is important to understand: why are cleansers and toners so important to the health of your skin? Well, they work in concert to do two distinct tasks that help keep your skin healthy.

  • A facial cleanser works by removing things that can negatively affect the health of the skin and pores. This includes sweat, dirt, excess oils that are naturally produced by skin, dead skin cells, and any make-up products or cosmetics that are applied to the skin. Facial cleansers can be made from a variety of ingredients including coconut oil, apple cider vinegar, lemon, and more.
  • Toners, on the other hand, are an in-between skincare step. They are used after a cleanser to balance the pH of the face and to help individuals who suffer from oily skin. They are made from various products including aloe vera, green tea, witch hazel, and more.

The Amazon marketplace for this category has grown every quarter since Q1 of 2019 and has not seen a contraction or reduction in revenue since. Similar to many other product groups, the marketplace saw a dramatic rise in revenue when we compare Q2 2020 to Q1 2020, with revenues increasing by an impressive 47%.

When we compare Q3 2020 revenue to Q3 2019, we see an even more dramatic rise in revenue by over 93%!

Even after some pandemic restrictions were lifted in Q3, we see a QoQ increase of 13% when we compare Q3 2020 and Q2 2020. This could indicate that consumers’ behavior has shifted and they are now becoming accustomed to purchasing their facial cleansers and toners on Amazon.

The top 20 highest selling products for this category in the Amazon marketplace account for 27% of the category revenue. Within the top 20 products in Q3 2020, 19 of them are cleansers and 1 is a toner. The brand with the most products in the top 20 list is Cetaphil, with 6 of the top 20. The fastest-growing ASIN is also made by Cetaphil, with a QoQ growth of 113%. Since the data is so heavily skewed towards cleansers, it is important to view the top 20 ASINS that are cleansers and the top 20 ASINS that are toners. When we look at just the top toners, we are able to see that Thayer’s, a company that brands itself as a natural remedies provider, is the top brand, having 5 toner products in the top 20. Mario Badescu is second with 3 products, and its top products advertise the fact that they are made from natural components including cucumber, aloe, rosewater, and lavender. This coincides with the market report that consumers are looking for more natural-based products. 

In summary, it is clear that consumers are continuing to turn to Amazon to purchase facial cleansers and toners. Consumers in need of cleansers tend to look for big-name brands such as CeraVe, Neutrogena, and Cetaphil. However, consumers that are purchasing toners look for brands that sell more natural-based products and purchase from more niche brands. We predict that the category will continue to see similar and sustained growth for the foreseeable future. 

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