A Study on the Factors Influencing Adults’ Preference for Customized Cosmetics and Their Purchase Intention

The customized cosmetics market continues to grow around the beauty and cosmetics industry in response to consumer demand for personalized content. This study was conducted to understand the awareness and preference for customized cosmetics. A total of 416 adult men and women residing in South Korea from August 2023 were surveyed for their awareness, purchase preference, and intention to recommend customized cosmetics. The collected data was statistically analyzed using SPSS ver. 25.0 for Windows. The results showed that the study participants were ‘well aware’ (13.5%) of customized cosmetics and most often learned them through ‘recommendations from acquaintances’ (39.2%). The primary purchase route was ‘online shopping’ (50.2%), the most desired product type was ‘skincare’ (71.6%), and the purchase cycle was ‘every 6 months’ (37.0%). The most influential factor for purchase was ‘personalization’ (66.8%). The preference for purchasing factors indicated that ‘quality and service’ (M=4.23) were the highest and the overall purchase preference score averaged 4.12 points. According to a comparative analysis based on general characteristics, significant differences existed in some areas by gender, region of residence, education level, and occupation. Additionally, 85.4% of the respondents expressed an intention to recommend customized cosmetics. These findings can serve as foundational data for studies aimed at promoting customized cosmetics and enhancing the industry’s competitiveness.