Canadian Consumers Cite Self-Esteem as Top Motivation for Grooming

Canadians spend 4.7 hours weekly on personal grooming

TORONTO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–According to new GfK research, 60% of Canadian consumers (ages 15 and
older) say their number one motivation for personal grooming is “to feel
good about myself.”

The GfK study also shows that “to make a good impression on people whom
I meet for the first time” and “to please my spouse or partner” were
tied for second among leading reasons for grooming, with each cited by
30% of Canadian consumers.

The results are part of a new GfK survey among over 27,000 consumers in
22 countries investigating reasons for looking good and the amount of
time spent on grooming. Globally, 60% of consumers cited “to feel good
about myself” as their main grooming motivation – identical to the
Canadian average. (For the study, GfK defined personal grooming as
any activity that involves bathing, shaving, dressing, hair and make-up.)

GfK also found that Canadians spend 4.7 hours weekly on personal
grooming, compared to the global average of 4 hours.

In Canada, rounding out the top 5 motivators for personal grooming were
“because it makes me feel in control” at 28% and “to express my
individuality,” which scored 25%.

Men and women display notable differences

Among Canadians, gender plays a role in the motivations for personal
grooming. Despite holding mostly similar views, men and women assign
different levels of importance to each motivation.

For example, even though both men and women cite self-esteem as their
top motivation, a significantly greater proportion of women mentioned it
as their biggest reason (68%, versus 51% for men). In addition, “to
please my spouse or partner” was the second most important motivator
among men (33%), while women rated it fifth (26%).

	Motivation			Canadian Men			Canadian Women
	“To feel good about myself”			51% (1st)			68% (1st)
	“To please my spouse or partner”			33% (2nd)			26% (5th)
	“To make a good first impression”			29% (3rd)			31% (2nd)
	“To feel in control”			26% (4th)			30% (3rd)
	“To express my individuality”			N/A*			28% (4th)
	“To make a good impression on those I find attractive”			26% (5th)			N/A*
	* Does not appear in the top 5 for the group

Top motivations change with age

Among the age groups surveyed, all cited “to feel good about myself” as
the major motivation for grooming (over 50 percent for all).
Unsurprisingly, for the 20-to-29 and 30-to-39 age groups, “to make a
good first impression” ranked as the second most popular reason.
Notably, “to express my individuality” disappears at age 30 and only
re-emerges in the 50-to-59 group.

For additional information about this study, contact
Juliann
Ng at juliann.ng@gfk.com.

About the study

GfK conducted an online survey with over 27,000 consumers aged 15 or
older in 22 countries. Online data were collected using a staggered
field start that completed in June 2015 and weighted to reflect the
demographic composition of the online population age 15+ in each market.
The countries included are Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil,
Canada, China, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan,
Mexico, Netherlands, Poland, Russia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Turkey,
UK and USA.

¹The survey question asked: “Here are the reasons some people
have given for trying to look their best. For each one, please indicate
if it is a major reason why you try to look your best: To feel good
about myself / Because it is important for my career / Because it is
expected of me / To be admired and respected by other people / To please
my spouse or partner / To make a good impression on people whom I meet
for the first time / To express my individuality / To set a good example
for my children / To make a good impression on people of the opposite
sex or those that I find attractive / Because it makes me feel in
control.”

About GfK

GfK is the trusted source of relevant market and consumer information
that enables its clients to make smarter decisions. More than 13,000
market research experts combine their passion with GfK’s long-standing
data science experience. This allows GfK to deliver vital global
insights matched with local market intelligence from more than 100
countries. By using innovative technologies and data sciences, GfK turns
big data into smart data, enabling its clients to improve their
competitive edge and enrich consumers’ experiences and choices.

For more information, please visit http://www.gfk.com/us
or follow GfK on Twitter.

Contacts

GfK SE
David Stanton, 908-875-9844
VP, MarComms
david.stanton@gfk.com