Safe spaces come in all shapes and sizes, and today — in a world of omnichannel retail and cross-platform shopping — more men are finding solace (and themselves) in the discrete, face-saving surroundings of online stores and direct to consumer websites.
Slowly, but surely, a growing number of men are being coaxed out of a creaking shell of gendered archetypes and machismo, stepping out into the world with renewed takes on masculinity.
Armed with a greater sense of self, added confidence and a more nuanced appreciation of what it means to be a man — or rather, look like one — these men are taking to the global male grooming market with all the boyish enthusiasm traditionally reserved for more “manly” or “manly”-adjacent pursuits, such as growing beards, eating steaks, lumberjacking and axe throwing.
While the “new normal” has become shorthand for life post-COVID, the catchall is very much applicable to contemporary perceptions of manhood. More so than ever, for a growing cross-section of men, moisturising balms, styling pastes and body cleansers are the new normal.
That male grooming has managed to cross the threshold of acceptability — in the hearts, minds and bathroom cabinets of more men, including bros, guy’s guys, and dudes — owes a great deal to changing attitudes. As shown by several studies, the lines between definitions of “feminine” and “masculine” are becoming increasingly blurred; this blurriness leading to a more clear-eyed understanding of just how layered and grey — as opposed to black and white — identity is.
According to a survey conducted by the University of British Columbia and the Canadian market research firm, Intensions Consulting, millennial men are more likely to endorse traditionally female qualities, valuing altruism, openness and self-care above conventionally male traits like physical strength.
For many, this shift in mindset is liberating. Where classical interpretations of masculinity typically pigeonholed men, leaving them with little room to spread their wings and explore new or divergent interests, a new generation is flying the coop and finding its flock among the virtual shopping aisles and web-pages of online retailers. Trawling the net for the finest face toning and skin rejuvenating self-care products has never been manlier.
This is borne out by hard numbers. Globally, figures show men are becoming increasingly mindful of their grooming. In Britain, for example, research carried out by Champneys — the UK’s “original” health resort — highlights that self-care is fast becoming a priority for British men: a quarter of the Brits surveyed by the luxury spa brand eager to spend more time tending to their health and personal wellbeing.
Such is the demand for cosmetics and personal-care products that the global men’s grooming market is expected to be worth over $81 billion in only three years. Some experts even forecast that revenue from the sales of male grooming items will cross the $110 billion mark by 2031.
While the growth of the international male beauty industry can be attributed to a sharp rise in the number of manufacturers and brands entering the market — such as Ceylon and HIMS — the men’s beauty boom has largely been by ignited by the surging popularity of ecommerce.
Earlier this year, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) announced that global e-commerce sales jumped to $26.7 trillion in 2019. Just two years ago, according to Shopify — the Canadian ecommerce company — 13.6% of sales were made from online purchases. That figure is expected to approach 19.5% in the coming months.
In the wake of COVID-19, the expansion of the digital retail economy should come as no surprise, the pandemic and the resulting movement restrictions spurring a change in consumers’ shopping and spending habits. Health and safety suddenly emerging as value differentiators and unique selling points for brands, retailers invested a great deal of time and resources into accelerating their digital transformation — the likes of Emaar and Azadea rolling out new digital offerings in order to match their customers’ evolving preferences.
Notably, Gap has outlined plans to shut 30% of its brick-and-mortar North American stores in favour of doubling its online business by 2023 — an ambitious pivot the apparel giant is currently navigating with the construction of a $140 million warehouse. Similarly, fashion retailers, such as Nordstrom and Kohls, are also introducing whole new suites of innovations, digital platforms and channels. This has already paid considerable dividends, with the former’s ecommerce sales amounting to over half of its revenues in 2020, and the latter’s online business growing by 41% in the same year.
It is easy to understand why so many shoppers take to the net for their retail therapy. Why vacate the plush and familiar comforts of your favourite couch when that fortifying shampoo that maintains the sheen and volume of your hair is only one website away? Why abandon the sanitised security of your home when that Korean face mask that perks your skin with a little more youth and glow can be ordered with the simple click of a button and delivered straight to your door?
With online shopping, the wonderful world of luxury retail is right at your fingertips. Straightforward and seamless, this modern take on retail speaks to the tech-minded habits of digital nomads, enabling them to shop — and live their lives — at the speed of the internet.
For men, much more than convenience, ease of use or safety, ecommerce also provides privacy. With personal-care and grooming still very much gendered, in spite of our increasingly fluid definitions of manliness, many men place a premium on the discretion ecommerce offers.
Shopping online enables even the most alpha of alphas to peruse the male grooming categories of their favourite ecommerce platforms for everything from serum correctors to beard trimmers with added peace of mind. This privacy allows them to shop to their hearts’ content without being judged in the court of sexist public opinion or emasculated in the eyes of narrow-sighted observers.
What’s more, online shopping also immerses less experienced self-care shoppers in the diverse world of beauty brands. It introduces them to a one-stop-shop of sorts in which the full — and often intimidating — variety of grooming products and treatments is laid out in a palatable manner for customers to digest.
As said, ecommerce’s appeal to male shoppers is reflected by the steady rise in the online sales of male grooming products. However, while digital platforms, including Sephora and Ulta, have made great strides in ensuring their male customers are catered to with a widening selection of products across their beauty categories, there remains much more work to be done.
In spite of the profitability of the male grooming segment, the personal care industry still appears to pay a painful lack of attention to its male customers — most notably online. At a time in which more advances are being made by gender-inclusive communities, this strikes an especially confounding and fiscally careless note. Especially as men have been shown to spend more money online than women.
A cursory Google search highlights the glaring lack of self-care provisions for men; the gulf between demand and supply galling for enthusiastic shoppers keen to get their hands on a decent moisturising gel cream or an affordable bottle of shave butter.
Simply put: there appears to be a cognitive dissonance between what men want and what brands and manufacturers are currently equipped or willing to provide. This should not be the case, with the global men’s grooming market exhibiting such tremendous potential.
The Middle East and Africa (MEA) men’s grooming market, for example, is primed to exceed $4 billion in value by 2022; a sizeable jump from its 2016 valuation of $3.58 billion. Much of this growth is expected to be motivated by the GCC, with the Gulf’s grooming industry forecasted to be worth $3.27bn in 2022.
What this tells us is that personal care, as with our outdated views on masculinity, is in desperate need of a makeover. The global grooming industry needs to hold up a mirror to itself to reflect on what it stands for and what its customers want. Brands must go above and beyond gimmicky marketing campaigns and ads to authentically represent the world as we know it today. They have to scratch beneath the surface of cosmetic appeals to their male patrons to truly change the face of beauty and self-care. This shift in attitude, business model and approach would benefit us all — going by the evidence, judging by the look of things.
