After-bath products most popular

Drug Store News, June 24, 1991

After-bath products most popular

More than seven out of 10 (71 percent) of Gallup respondents said they've used a bath or shower product during the past four weeks.

The most popular: lotions, creams, talcs and dusting powders that women stroke on their bodies after bathing or showering, used by 56 percent of the women in the study.

Bath additives and shower gels are less popular, at 27 percent, and shower gel, at 14 percent.

Across age groups, after-bath products seem universally more popular. Six out of 10 women 50 and older say they've used these within the past four weeks - as have 54 percent age 18 to 24, 56 percent of women 25 to 34, and 54 percent in the 35-to-49 bracket.

By comparison, only 31 percent of women 18 to 24 told Gallup they'd used a bath additive or shower gel in the past four weeks, as have 30 percent of women 35 to 49, and 27 percent of the 50-and-older crowd. Bath additives and gels are used the least by women 25 to 34.

Since after-bath products appeal to a broader spectrum of American women than bath additives or shower gels, they deserve larger space allocations, as well as stronger advertising support in drug stores.

Plus, bath products make good candidates for ads because the use-up rate is high. More than three out of four (or 77 percent) of bath product users age 35 to 49 say they use these items "every time or most of the time" they bathe or shower; among women 25 to 34, 80 percent said this, as did 82 percent of women 50 and older.

PHOTO : Confronted with the stress and pressures of life on today's fast track, American women are seeking relief in the relaxing privacy of their bath.

Table : Where people shop most often for bath products

                              All      25-34   35-49   50 and
                            Shoppers                    older
Regular drug stores           17%        15%    10%      21%
Deep discount drug stores     18         21     18       18
Net drug stores               35         35     27       38
Door to door                  20         14     23       22
Discount stores               16         21     19       12
Food stores                   13         14     17       10

Base: women who have used bath products. Source: Drug Store News/Gallup 1991 Consumer Survey.

Table : How often women use bath and shower products

                                       Among women in these age groups
                             Among                   50 and
                            all women  25-34  35-49  older
Every time bath or shower      55%      53%    53%    60%
Most of the time               25       27     24     22
Sometimes/rarely               20       20     23     17

Base: women who have used any type of bath or shower product. Source: Drug Store News/Gallup 1991 Consumer Survey.