Investigating the effects of cosmeceutical product advertising in beauty‐care decision making

Purpose – In response to the rapid growth of the cosmeceutical industry, this study aims to investigate young female consumers' confidence in cosmeceuticals and the perceived competency of cosmeceutical product advertising. Design/methodology/approach – An online survey of 224 young female participants was recruited from an online national young consumer panel from Zoomerang. This group of participants mirrored the characteristics of the largest segment in the cosmeceutical market in the USA. Findings – The results suggest that the perceived information utility of cosmeceutical product advertising is the most significant factor in engaging young female consumers' interests and desire to try cosmeceuticals. Moreover, young female consumers' self‐evaluation on body esteem, their perceived effectiveness of product claims, their interests in reading such advertising, and their attitudes toward advertising jointly affect their likelihood to take cosmeceutical products. Not surprisingly, self‐evaluation on body esteem predicted a negative influence on product purchase intention. As their self‐evaluation on body esteem increases, the likelihood to purchase cosmeceuticals decreases. Originality/value – The study adds insights on a fast‐growing, but understudied, product category, cosmeceutical products, to the research stream and expands the knowledge on the information utility of cosmeceutical product advertising on young female consumers.