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Brits over 45 are the most price-conscious beauty shoppers: 36% look for the lowest price
36% of British beauty buyers aged 46 to 65 say the lowest price matters when they choose a brand, against 26% in both younger age groups. Under-30s more often want stylish packaging.
Chief Data Officer and Co-founder
· 2 min read
Data
Source. Odyssey Beauty Signal, UK. Online panel interviews, collected every month and weighted. UK consumers aged 16 to 65 who had bought beauty products in the past six months: 4,538 interviews from September 2025 to August 2026, of which 1,674 aged 16 to 29, 1,885 aged 30 to 45 and 864 aged 46 to 65. The age groups add up to fewer than the total because some respondents did not state their age.
MethodContents3 sections
British beauty buyers aged 46 to 65 are more price-conscious than younger buyers. When choosing a beauty brand, 36% of them say the lowest price matters, against 26% of 16 to 29-year-olds and 26% of 30 to 45-year-olds.
The figures come from Beauty Signal, Odyssey's monthly survey of UK beauty buyers. Between September 2025 and August 2026, 4,538 people aged 16 to 65 who had bought beauty products in the past six months described their ideal beauty brand by choosing from a list of practical qualities and a list of words describing its character.
Price and value matter most to buyers over 45
Buyers aged 46 to 65 choose these qualities more often than either younger group:
- 39% want good offers and discounts, against 28% of 16 to 29-year-olds and 27% of 30 to 45-year-olds.
- 62% want value for money, against 49% and 54%.
- 50% want products that give good results, against 39% and 38%.
The share who want a trustworthy brand also rises with age, from 41% of 16 to 29-year-olds and 48% of 30 to 45-year-olds to 59% of those aged 46 to 65.
In the oldest group, 22% want a traditional brand, about twice the share in the two younger groups, at 11% and 12%. The words caring and easy follow the same pattern, rising from 20% and 23% among the youngest buyers to 31% and 33% among the oldest.
High quality is chosen by between 53% and 56% in every age group.
Under-30s more often want stylish packaging and a youthful brand
Buyers aged 16 to 29 choose these qualities more often than those aged 46 to 65:
- stylish packaging, 21% against 11%
- a youthful brand, 20% against 10%
- a trend-leading brand, 21% against 14%
- an exclusive brand, 17% against 10%
- a creative brand, 23% against 17%
On each of these, 30 to 45-year-olds are close to the youngest group.
Organic products are chosen by 22% of 16 to 29-year-olds, 24% of 30 to 45-year-olds and 15% of those aged 46 to 65. Vegan products are chosen by 14%, 12% and 8%, a minority in every age group.
Sustainability shows no clear age pattern. Between 22% and 28% of each age group want a sustainable brand, and between 20% and 22% an ethical one.
What it means for beauty brands
- Brands for buyers over 45. Price, offers and value for money matter more than in any younger group, and half or more of these buyers also want a trustworthy brand with products that give good results.
- Brands for under-30s. Stylish packaging and a youthful or trend-leading image are chosen about twice as often as among the oldest buyers, although each is chosen by about a fifth of the youngest group.
- Sustainability. A sustainable brand is wanted by between a fifth and just over a quarter of buyers in every age group.
Related product: Odyssey Brand Signal, the brand tracking platform
About the data
Source. Odyssey Beauty Signal, UK. Online panel interviews, collected every month and weighted. UK consumers aged 16 to 65 who had bought beauty products in the past six months: 4,538 interviews from September 2025 to August 2026, of which 1,674 aged 16 to 29, 1,885 aged 30 to 45 and 864 aged 46 to 65. The age groups add up to fewer than the total because some respondents did not state their age.
Questions. "If you are thinking about the ideal store or brand that offers beauty products. How would it be?", with 16 practical qualities, and the same question with 21 words describing character. Respondents choose any number from each list.
Differences. The differences between the 46 to 65 group and the younger groups described in the text are statistically significant at the 95% level, with a margin for the effect of weighting. Sustainable and ethical do not differ significantly between the youngest and oldest groups.
AI use. The figures were computed with Odyssey's data engine. An AI assistant helped draft the text, which was checked against the data.
About the author
Chief Data Officer and Co-founder
Fredrik Augustsson is Chief Data Officer and Co-founder of Odyssey. He is a data scientist with more than 20 years of experience in market and brand research.
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