MEN’S SHOPPING BEHAVIOUR IN COSMETIC PRODUCTS MARKET

Odnos do lepote je povezan z odnosom do kozmetike. Splošno veljavno je, da nam je lepo všeč, kar pa ni lepo, na nek način zavračamo. Lepota je na različne načine izpostavljena v vseh obdobjih – opevana je v pisani besedi, upodabljana na slikah, občudujemo jo na gledaliških odrih, v zadnjih časih nam jo v izdatni meri ponujajo mediji. Lepota je nekaj, kar si želimo. Zato je to zelo priročen pojem za oglaševanje različnih kozmetičnih izdelkov, katerih glavno sporočilo je, kako (p)ostati lep, ob čemer so slogani "zapakirani" v najrazličnejše nam všečne oblike. V svojem magistrskem delu sem se lotila pregleda lepotnih idealov skozi čas in iz literature povzela pojmovanje podob idealne ženske in idealnega moškega v različnih zgodovinskih obdobjih. Predpostavljam, da je lepota zelo povezana tudi z zunanjim videzom, zato sem poiskala dosegljive podatke o zgodovini kozmetike oziroma, bolje rečeno, lepotnih pripravkov in se ustavila pri kozmetiki, kot jo poznamo danes. Logični razvoj dogodkov je pripeljal tudi do napovedovanja trendov v prihodnjih letih. V nalogi so me prav posebej zanimali moški, točneje njihovo nakupovalno vedenje na trgu kozmetičnih izdelkov. Ker moški skupaj z žensko predstavlja zaključeno celoto, sem analizirala tudi nakupovalno vedenje žensk na trgu kozmetičnih izdelkovrazlog za to je predvsem v tem, da ugotovim, če med obema spoloma obstajajo razlike v nakupovalnih navadah. Podatke sem pridobila z intervjuji z različnimi moškimi in ženskami, podrobneje pa sem analizirala tudi mnenja prodajalk oziroma prodajalcev na prodajnih mestih, kjer prodajajo kozmetiko. Dobljeni podatki so zanimivi sami zase, pa tudi v primerjavi z rezultati globalnih svetovnih raziskav. Trendi, ki se kažejo na področju prodaje in nakupovanja moške kozmetike, so vsekakor spodbudni in kot taki predstavljajo tudi oporo za odločitve tržnikov in distributerjev, ki se ukvarjajo z lansiranjem novih kozmetičnih blagovnih znamk na trg. Kot kaže, je pri sodobnem moškem želja po mladostnem videzu prehitela željo po drugačnosti ...Attitude to beauty is related to attitude to cosmetics. It is common knowledge that we like that which is beautiful and somewhat reject that which is not. The subject of beauty has been addressed throughout the ages: praised by the written word, depicted in paintings, admired on the stage and - in a more recent era - portrayed in various ways by the media. Beauty is something we all desire and hence it is an eminently suitable notion in advertising a variety of cosmetic products whose principal communication is how to become/remain beautiful. Such messages are, of course, "packaged" in a variety of attractive forms. In this thesis, I have reviewed ideals of beauty through time and through a study of literature, and examined notions of the ideal woman and the ideal man across different periods of history. I assumed that beauty is closely related to appearance hence I also investigated the history of beauty products and cosmetics as we know today. This study also pointed towards the anticipation of trends over the coming years. The principal focus of my thesis is male shopping behaviour in relation to cosmetic products, and in this study I also analysed the shopping behaviour of women in the cosmetics market, mainly in order to discover eventual differences in shopping patterns between the genders. I recovered data from interviews with a number of men and women as well as analysed in detail the opinions of shop assistants at sales points where cosmetics are sold. The resulting data is interesting in itself as well as in comparison with the results of global research. Trends in the field of the sale and purchase of cosmetics for men are definitely encouraging, and as such provide support to marketing professionals and distributors involved in launching new brands of cosmetics on the market. As regards contemporary men, the desire for a youthful appearance seems to have overcome the desire to be different from women