Globally the market for beauty treatment has seen consistent strong growth. In Asia the growth rate was as high as 14% per year from 2012-2014.
Supporting factors include health and beauty trends, as well as the advent of an aging society. Working-age professionals constitute the largest group of customers, with the highest level of demand for both skin care treatment and cosmetic surgery at 40%.
Highlights
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Globally the market for beauty treatment has seen consistent strong growth. In Asia the growth rate was as high as 14% per year from 2012-2014.
Social mores regarding beauty have also shifted, resulting in a growing acceptance of cosmetic surgery. In addition, thanks to more advanced technology and the wider availability of trained cosmetic surgeons, getting cosmetic surgery is nowadays relatively hassle-free.
The global beauty treatment market is valued at 21 trillion baht, posting a growth rate of 7% per year.
Asia takes one-fifth of the global market value (Figure 1). The most popular products are found in the anti-aging group, especially Botox and fillers, with the number of customers increasing by 7.5% per year. In the cosmetic surgery group growth is projected at 7.4% per year for services such as eye, nose, and breast surgery (Figure 2).
Growth in this sector overall is not limited to one particular age group, but can be seen in all age groups with different types of demand.
Working-age professionals constitute the largest group of customers, with the highest level of demand for both skin care treatment and cosmetic surgery at 40%.
The beauty treatment market in Thailand is likely to continue expanding
Clinics offering all-in-one services covering both skin care and cosmetic surgery are likely to see better growth than those offering skin care treatment alone.
The Thai beauty treatment market is likely to see continuing strong growth driven especially by working-age customers, who are increasingly paying attention to health and beauty issues.
An EIC survey has found that up to 60-80% of the working-age group are interested in beauty-related products and services.
Moreover, customers are paying attention to health and beauty issues at a younger age than before. At 77%, the 20-40 year old group shows the highest level of demand for beauty products. Higher income also correlates with demand for more advanced service than skin care alone, corresponding with the spike in demand for anti-aging treatment and cosmetic surgery.
The market for cosmetic surgery and anti-aging treatment in Thailand stands to benefit from medical tourism and therefore has great potential for even better growth.
Thailand is well-known for quality cosmetic surgery service. The International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS) ranks Thailand eighth in the world in terms of reputation. Thailand also ranks 25th globally in terms of the surgeons-to-population ratio.
Thailand offers efficient, good service at a lower price than competitors. For example, an upper blepharoplasty (eyelid) procedure costs 3-4 times less in Thailand than in South Korea. Domestic and international customers thus find Thailand an attractive option. Medical tourism data from Phuket, which has a high potential for specialist medical service, shows that cosmetic surgery-related services are the most popular, at 48%, followed by anti-aging treatment at 34%.
Author: Tanyaporn Laosopapirom
