Is Your Brand Really Worth It? Beauty Shoppers Want Proof, New Report Finds

The Consumer Collective's "Routine Shift" study of 750 U.S. adults finds women on GLP-1s and women getting aesthetic treatments are beauty's most engaged shoppers, and more than half of each group will pay more for products that deliver noticeable results.

BROOKLYN, N.Y., Oct. 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Women taking GLP-1 medications and women getting aesthetic treatments are reshaping the beauty market, spending on new concerns and paying more for products that deliver results. The Consumer Collective, a consumer insights and advisory firm, today released those findings and more in "Routine Shift: The State of Beauty in America 2026," a report on how U.S. consumers shop for, spend on and think about beauty.

Download the report here. 

Key findings

• 73% of women who have taken a GLP-1 report at least one new beauty concern since starting, led by skin sagging (35%) and hair thinning (32%)
• Women who've had an aesthetic procedure in the past year are more than three times as likely to have spent $250 or more on beauty products in the past three months (46% vs. 13% of women with no professional services)
• Women who have taken a GLP-1 are more than twice as likely as other women to be buying more makeup than a year ago (45% vs. 19%)
• 44% of consumers aren't familiar with K-beauty, though nearly half of women who use it (56%) are using more than they did two years ago
• 70% say the goal of their beauty routine has changed in the past two years, and skin health and prevention lead the shift

GLP-1 users are more engaged with beauty overall. Among women who currently take or have taken one, 48% are more interested in beauty than a year ago, compared with 23% of women who haven't. 59% feel more confident about their appearance, 72% have bought something specifically because of changes from the medication and 56% will pay more for products that deliver noticeable results.

Women getting aesthetic treatments such as Botox, filler, laser treatments or microneedling are also some of beauty's biggest product buyers. Compared with women who had no professional services in the past year, they are twice as likely to use beauty tools and devices (62% vs. 30%) and four times as likely to use K-beauty (61% vs. 15%). Half are buying more makeup than a year ago, compared with 14% of women with no professional services.

K-beauty still has a lot of room to grow in the U.S. 44% of consumers aren't familiar with K-beauty, and that rises to 69% of those 62 and older.

Shoppers say price (72%) and effectiveness (55%) matter most when deciding whether to buy a new beauty product. Just 2% name influencer recommendations — though influencers remain key for product discovery.

The report also sorts consumers into four groups based on how their beauty spending has changed: the Invested (30%), who are spending more; the Pullbacks (28%), who are spending less, mostly because of the cost of living; the Loyalists (21%), who are keeping the same spend and routine; and the Editors (20%), who are spending the same but shifting money between categories.

"There are several emerging highly engaged and high-spending consumer groups within beauty," said Allison Collins, co-founder of The Consumer Collective. "We see people taking GLP-1 medications spending to address new needs; professional services clients spending more to maintain and recover from minor procedures; and K-beauty shoppers going more deeply into the category."

The report also includes:

• What separates high and low spenders
• K-beauty's biggest growth opportunities
• A consumer wish list of products and services that don't exist yet, from at-home alternatives to injectables to hair-thinning solutions for women
• The next wave of GLP-1 consumers: nearly one in five women are seriously considering the medication, and they already shop like current users
• Generational differences in spending: 40% of Gen Z are spending more on beauty than a year ago, compared with 14% of Boomers

Methodology: The Consumer Collective fielded this survey in October 2026 among 750 U.S. consumers. Women were oversampled (75% of respondents), and figures are stratified to U.S. census demographics. GLP-1 findings are based on a subsample of current and former users and reflect women in that group. Aesthetic procedures include Botox or other neurotoxins, filler, laser hair removal, laser resurfacing or IPL, chemical peels, microneedling and skin tightening or body contouring in the past 12 months. Facials are counted separately as a professional service.

About the report: "Routine Shift" is available now as a 27-page download in The Consumer Collective's insights library. The report covers spending motivations, the four consumer groups, K-beauty, generational differences, aesthetic services and a deep dive on GLP-1 consumers. More data is available to media upon request.

About The Consumer Collective
The Consumer Collective is a consumer insights and advisory firm helping brands, founders, investors and technology companies navigate a rapidly changing consumer landscape. We connect the dots between how people live, think and spend and what those shifts mean for business. Our work brings together original consumer research, market intelligence, trend forecasting and deep sector expertise to identify emerging opportunities and separate lasting shifts from passing signals. From beauty and wellness to fashion, food, retail and technology, we help clients understand what is changing, decide where to focus and turn consumer insight into clear, actionable business strategy. Founded by Allison Collins and Jessica Ramírez, The Consumer Collective also publishes Inside The Collective, a paid weekly newsletter.

Media Contact: [email protected], theconsumercollective.co

SOURCE The Consumer Collective