London, 16 June 2008 - Footballers make many a woman’s heart beat faster, but Ladies – think again if watching the Euro Championship got you dreaming about a visit to the changing rooms! Research from TNS Worldpanel shows that a worrying 1 in 6 British men never use deodorant, compared to only 6% of women. While the rise of the ‘metrosexual man’ might have improved male body care and grooming, 16% of men still seem blissfully unaware of any need to improve their ‘natural scent’ (TNS Worldpanel Usage, 12 months ending March 2008).
Compared to their European counterparts, however, British men (and women) are doing rather well: In well-groomed Italy, for example, a staggering 28% of men do not use deodorant at all, as do 26% in France, and 23% in Germany. In fact, only the Spanish show the same level of concern about odour and transpiration as the British. Brits also use deodorant more frequently than everyone else in Europe, on average applying it 6.5 times a week.
Perhaps men are just a little confused about why they should use deodorant. When asked for what reasons they use it, 1 in 5 men (19%) in Britain say they use deodorant as a fragrance, rather than to simply prevent body odour and transpiration - that is more than twice as many men as women (8%). In contrast, Spanish and French men show a little more common sense when they spray, with more using proper fragrance to do this job. 1 in 10 British men use deodorant when it is already too late, in an attempt to “mask odour” rather than prevent it. Germans and Italians, however, are doing worse: A staggering 1 in 4 German men (24%) use deodorant as fragrance, while 18% of Italian men attempt to mask odour, not prevent it, and 8% want a deodorant to moisturize their skin.
Eric Merceron, Consumer Insight Director, TNS Worldpanel comments: “Deodorants are a lot more effective than they used to be a generation ago, and the variety of formats, scents and price ranges clearly offers something for everyone. While the industry has diversified the functional properties of deodorants and tried to meet the needs of different user groups, still the category has not reached 100% market penetration. While the surprisingly high number of non-users may be bad news for our noses, it’s good news for the industry – indicating there is still room for growth.”
Indeed there is hope of a ‘sweeter’ future for male armpits. British men are heavy users of aerosols, with 74% preferring them to any other format of deodorant (women: 44%), and aerosols are growing fast: In the 12 months to 18th May 2008, aerosols have grown at twice the market rate in volume (packs) at 3.2%, and by 6.3% in consumer spend (TNS Worldpanel, 52 weeks ending 18th May 2008).
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Note to editor
These findings are based on TNS Worldpanel usage data for the 12 months ending March 2008 and TNS Worldpanel purchase data for the 12 weeks to 18th May 2008. In Great Britain, TNS Worldpanel monitors the household grocery purchasing habits of 25,000 demographically representative households and the personal care usage habits of 10,000 individuals, also demographically representative. Across Europe, TNS Worldpanel monitors the personal care usage habits of 5,000 individuals in Germany, 6,000 in France, 3,500 in Spain and 3,500 in Italy, representative of the populations of these countries. TNS will only support data that is published in the context we have presented it and our own interpretation of these findings. We cannot be held responsible for any other interpretation of these findings.
For further information, please contact:
Melanie Haberstroh, TNS
Tel: 0208 967 2168
Melanie.haberstroh@tns-global.com
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