Perception of Natural Cosmetics Among Central European Consumers

Abstract

Abstract This paper aims to analyse consumers’ perceptions and attitudes towards natural cosmetic products from three Central European countries. In this study, we employed quantitative surveys on samples of 230 Czech, 175 Slovak, and 325 Polish respondents. Based on the obtained data, we investigate whether and how the respondents’ country impacts how they formulate their statements regarding the features of natural cosmetics. For each country separately, we study the dependencies of respondents’ opinions and statements on their sociodemographic profile. The results of the research show statistically significant differences in the respondents’ answers to all substantive questions depending on their country of origin. Four findings are worth highlighting: first, respondents from all three countries prefer natural cosmetics over conventional ones mainly for health and environmental reasons. Second, the frequency of buying natural cosmetics is influenced by some sociodemographic factors, although this varies in all three countries. Third, respondents who buy natural cosmetics more often are also more likely to indicate them as products of higher quality than conventional cosmetics. Lastly, the declared composition of the product is the prevailing decision criterion for consumers when selecting natural cosmetic products.