A recent insights report from Jefferies citing Nielsen data shows that wide-spread social distancing has hit mass beauty sales hard, with the segment seeing a 26 percent drop for the four-week period ended April 18. During the period, makeup and nail category sales declined 45 percent, and skin care, which outperformed at the onset of social distancing, dropped 46 percent, suggesting a stock-up effect on routine staples. Fragrance sharply declined 62 percent. The down shift in spending implies that consumers are pulling back on beauty, and may be trading down from masstige to mass, amid concerns regarding income and stability. While all categories experienced declines, hair care sales, which includes at-home hair color, is up 17 percent.

For the 52-week period, mass was down 3 percent; with makeup and nail sales down 6 percent; skin care sales down 10 percent; fragrance down 8 percent and hair care down 1 percent.

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