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 markets 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.

Other Canadian results
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%).

   * 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 markets. 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 markets 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.