How Far has User Adoption Spread in the Booming Korean Cosmetics Market?
Around the time of the third wave of influx of South Korean popular culture into Japan (2016 to 2017), many Korean cosmetics began to appear, and in 2022 South Korea overtook France as the No. 1 country from which Japan imports cosmetics.*1 How far has that penetration progressed? We will look into the actual situation using INTAGE’s purchase panel data SLI.
Fig 1 shows the trend in the market size of cosmetics purchased by women in Japan. *The effect of inbound tourism is not included. The market has been slowly recovering after a downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic that began in 2020, but skin care, base makeup, and point makeup (highlighting the eyes, lips, and cheeks) have yet to make a full comeback, with the market reaching only 92% of 2019 levels as of 2023.
Fig 1
Fig 2 shows the trend in the market size of the Korean cosmetics in Japan. It has grown year by year since 2019, expanding by approximately 6 times in 5 years. In particular, skin care has increased to more than 10 times what it was, and point makeup has increased more than 15 times.
Fig 2
Looking at the market share trend within the overall cosmetics market in Japan, Korean cosmetics in total accounted for 2.6% as of 2023, which is still small, but Korean base makeup has grown to 6.0% of the overall base makeup market.
Fig 3
One factor supporting this growth is the increase in the number of products. Fig 4 shows the trend in the number of SKUs purchased, revealing an expansion of 5.8 times in 5 years, increasing their presence on sales floors.
Fig 4
How Far has Korean Cosmetic User Adoption Spread?
Let’s look at how far user adoption has spread behind the market expansion.
Fig 5 shows the purchase rate and the purchase value per purchaser over the past five years. Looking at Korean cosmetics as a whole, both the purchase rate and the purchase value have been growing steadily. Further, in 2023, the purchase rate reached 19.9%, indicating that almost one in five people bought more than one Korean cosmetic a year. The purchase value per purchaser has also increased 2.2 times in the past 5 years. We can see that Korean cosmetics are becoming established among users and that the number of items used is increasing.
Fig 5
This data is compared by age group in Fig 6. We can see that the penetration situation varies widely by age group. Purchase rates in the teenage-to-thirties age range have been particularly high, with more than one in three women in their teens and twenties having bought Korean cosmetics in 2023.
Fig 6
In addition, the purchase rate and the purchase value per purchaser are increasing in all age groups. Even among those in their sixties, the purchase rate in 2023 increased to 7.6%, indicating that the progressing penetration is not limited to young people.
Shifting our perspective, let’s look at the characteristics of Korean cosmetics users in terms of their awareness and behavior. Fig 7 compares the “beauty stance,” “appearance consciousness,” and “beauty-oriented behaviors” of purchasers of Korean cosmetics with those of women aged 15 to 69 as a whole.
Fig 7
In terms of their stance, purchasers of Korean cosmetics showed a high level of interest in and awareness of beauty, as can be seen in responses such as, “Spending time on beauty makes me feel better,” “I want to do everything I can to avoid future problems with beauty,” and “I actively seek out beauty care methods and products that fit me.”
Furthermore, the high scores of “I want to show my personality with my makeup and hairstyle,” “I enjoy changing the impression I make on people with my makeup and hairstyle,” and “I consciously choose the kinds of makeup and hairstyle that ‘look like me’” suggest that they enjoy using makeup as a way to express themselves. Another characteristic behavior is that they “often check word-of-mouth websites about cosmetics.”
It seems that Korean cosmetics users have high beauty sensitivity, and many of them actively try their hand at beauty.
Where are Korean Cosmetics Purchased? Different Purchase Channels in Different Categories
These days, Korean cosmetics are even sold in supermarkets and via other familiar channels, but where are they mainly purchased? Looking at the purchase channel composition ratio, as shown in Fig 8, 45% were EC (e-commerce) purchases. E-commerce sites such as Qoo10, where Korean cosmetics can be purchased that are not sold at stores in Japan, have become established as a major channel, mainly for young people.
Fig 8
This channel composition varies widely by category. While e-commerce accounts for a particularly large portion of skin care purchases, the ratios of drug store purchases for base makeup and variety store and convenience store purchases for point makeup are relatively large. The ratio of purchases of point makeup at convenience stores has increased over the past few years, with developments such as collaborations between major convenience stores and popular Korean cosmetics brands. With some tricks on the purchase channel side as well, we can see a situation of expanding purchase opportunities.
In Conclusion (from a Conversation with Marketing Researchers)
Finally, we talked to the members in charge of this analysis and young researchers about Korean cosmetics.
Hiromasa Tanaka of the Institute for Human Research (hereinafter “Tanaka”): When I hear “Korea” I think of the old term “Korean drama,” yet South Korean culture, especially K-pop music and makeup, is taking over the world now, isn’t it.
Haruna Ishii, Planning & Analysis Department 5, Customer Business Drive Division (hereinafter “Ishii”): We indeed started this analysis focusing on Korean cosmetics because the presence of Korean cosmetics is increasing year by year in the cosmetics market. Korean cosmetics have been steadily growing every year since 2019, even as the domestic market size of cosmetics has not fully recovered from the impact of COVID-19.
Tanaka: We’ve also seen an increase in the share of sales value.
Ishii: In 2019, the market share was a mere 0.4%, yet in 2023 it has reached 2.6%. In terms of categories, base makeup is a strong performer, with a 6% share in 2023. Yabumoto-san, have you ever bought Korean makeup?
Yabumoto: Actually, I bought a foundation product made in Korea about six months ago. And I like it so much that I will buy it again.
Tanaka: Wow! What a surprise to see there are Korean cosmetics users even here.
Yabumoto: I happened to be shopping with a friend on a day off and we were talking about makeup. At that time, I asked if there was anything that could cover up and tone up the dark circles under my eyes, and my friend recommended the product she was using at the time. We went straight to a nearby drugstore together and tried it out. It looked good, so I bought it on the spot.
Ishii: The reviews of friends and the fact that they are actually using it is persuasive, right?
Yabumoto: I was indeed persuaded. (Laughs) But I didn’t have the courage to buy a large size from the beginning, and there were small sizes on display, so I bought a small size to try.
Tanaka: Your friend recommended it to you and you bought it, but how did you like it when you actually started using it?
Yabumoto: The way it went on my skin, the coverage, and its ability to last were all so good that I ended up making a repeat purchase of the large size.
Ishii: Korean cosmetics are popular not only because they are cheap, but also because the quality is getting very good now, so it seems people are highly satisfied in their actual use of them.
Yabumoto: But when I bought it, I had no awareness at all that it was made in Korea. Like, I realized a while after I bought it. Usually, when I buy cosmetics, I don’t care about them being “made in such-and-such a country.” I often buy them by asking my friends about their functionality such as whether they are suitable for me or whether they will cover up the parts I’m concerned about, or by checking reviews on social media.
Ishii: Recently, the channels selling Korean cosmetics have expanded, so it should be easy to have a conversation with a friend like Ms. Yabumoto did and talk about it, then go straight into trying it at a drugstore. Also, with Korean cosmetics being increasing sold even through e-commerce sites, it seems like they will become more and more of a familiar presence.
Yabumoto: Since cosmetics are applied directly to the skin, even as I gather information through conversations with friends and word of mouth on social media, at the end of the day I feel that I want to make a decision after actually trying them. So it is very helpful that they are available in various stores. Also, the fact that a product is available in many different places can lead to a sense of security that “it must be a good product after all.”
Tanaka: When I heard from Ms. Ishii that Korean cosmetics are growing, I thought it might be an aspect of the expansion of Korean culture, including K-pop, but knowing that they are also appreciated in terms of quality, I have gotten the impression that they will continue to grow.
Yabumoto: Looking at the data, not only the purchase rate (frontage) but also the purchase value per purchaser (depth) has increased. Also, we can see this trend not only among young people but in fact a wide range of ages.
Ishii: That’s right! From the data, we can feel their spread to and establishment within a wide range of ages. I intend to keep an eye on movements in Korean cosmetics.
The Korean cosmetics market is growing as users and places to purchase them expand. We will continue to follow the trends of the market in Knowledge Gallery.
[SLI® (Nationwide Female Consumer Panel Survey)] We are continually collecting beauty- and health-related shopping information on such as products as cosmetics, hair care products, and underwear from 40,000 female consumers aged 15-69 nationwide. SLI allows you to confirm consumer purchase conditions for a product, including who bought it, when, where, what they bought, how many of them, and at what price. *One feature of SLI is that by giving a temporary code to a product that has no barcode, it becomes possible to include a product bought online or via catalog sales in the processed data.
[Analyst Introduction] Haruna Ishii, Planning & Analysis Department 5, CBD Division Joined INTAGE in 2019 Responsible for panel research on SRI, SCI, and SLI, focusing on the cosmetics and daily household goods industries
Mami Yabumoto, Next Generation Consumer Panel Business Development Department, Business Development Division Joined INTAGE in 2023 Responsible for the operation of smartphone and personal computer surveys for the i-SSP (INTAGE Single Source Panel) panel survey
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