ESTIMATED VALUE IS £52.23 IN REALITY ITS £156.69
A new consumer report out today has revealed the average Briton doesn’t have a clue regarding the true value of their toiletry bag. When quizzed, the average adult estimated their wash bag with contents to be worth £52.23 when in reality the bag of essentials is worth nearly three times more at £156.69.
The research, which surveyed 5,000 adults, was undertaken by Travelodge in response to the hotel chain seeing a rise in the number of toiletry bags being left behind in its 487 hotels. In the last 12 months, hotel staff have spent hundreds of hours reuniting 10,000 wash bags with their owners. In one case a customer paid over a £100 for a courier to pick up her toiletry bag, which she had left behind in a London Travelodge hotel (The designer wash bag had nearly £1,000 worth of toiletry items).
Over half of adults surveyed (52%) stated they have two toiletry bags on the go at the same time. One bag they will use whilst travelling and the other bag they use daily at home, at the gym or at work.
A third of women surveyed stated their toiletry bag is the most important item they pack when travelling away from home. A fifth of women polled admitted they purchase more expensive toiletry items when staying away as a special treat.
The study also explored the beauty regimes and habits of British men and women.
Key research findings revealed that image-conscious Britons are spending a total of £14.1 billion* on toiletry products each year and it's not just women who are the culprits. Half the men questioned stated they have ditched soap and water in favour of a more sophisticated daily beauty regime, which includes cleansing, toning and using anti-aging skin care products such as face serum, eye cream and moisturiser. One in four admits to splashing out on up-market brands usually used by women.
One in five women think nothing of spending £50 on anti-ageing creams and own 10 different bottles of expensive perfume.
Jon Hendry Pickup, Travelodge Operations Director said; “In the last 12 months we have seen a growing rise in the number of toiletry bags being left behind in our 487 Travelodge hotels. We have had around 10,000 toiletry bags left behind by customers, which equates to over £1.6million worth of toiletry goods. This is serious money and our hotel teams are spending hundreds of hours getting these items back to their owners.
In support of this growing trend, we thought it would be interesting to see whether Britons really know the true value of their toiletry bag, as so many wash bags are being left behind in our hotels. Our research revealed Britons are clueless when it comes to the actual total cost of their toiletry bag and on average estimated it to be three times less than its actual real value.”
“I think the reason to why so many Britons don’t know the actual value of their toiletries is that, generally adults purchase items on an ad-hoc basics. It’s very rare that you would go out and purchase all items in one go therefore you don’t really know the exact total cost.”
The survey also revealed that three quarters of women would love to have a good rummage into their friends and favourite celebrities’ toiletry bag – so that they could see what products they use.
Listed below are the top ten most popular celebrity toiletry bags that British women would like to take a peek into:
1. Victoria Beckham
2. Catherine Duchess of Cambridge
3. Lady GaGa
4. Cheryl Cole
5. Holly Willoughby
6. Kylie
7. Elle McPherson
8. Angelina Jolie
9. Cameron Diaz
10. Jennifer Aniston
Further findings from the study revealed the rise of the metrosexual - as men are now spending more time getting ready to go out than women. On average men spend 81 minutes a day on personal grooming, including cleansing, toning and moisturising, shaving, styling hair and choosing clothes. In contrast, women have their beauty regime down to a fine art and get hair, clothes and make-up done in just 75 minutes. Listed below is a breakdown on timings:
· On an average morning men spend 23 minutes in the shower, compared to 22 minutes for women.
· Men then take 18 minutes on their shaving regime, compared to 14 minutes for women despite them having to trim legs, armpits and bikini line.
· Men take a minute longer - 10 minutes - on cleansing, toning and moisturising.
· Choosing an outfit is also a timely operation for blokes who want to look their best - taking 13 minutes compared to 10 minutes for women.
· In addition, hair and make up takes a further 17 minutes, compared to a woman's 22 minutes, and men spend another couple of minutes checking and touching up their appearance.
Listed below are the top ten toiletry items that men regularly borrow from their partners without asking for permission beforehand:
1. Moisturiser
2. Hand cream
3. Hair conditioner
4. Perfume
5. Body butter
6. Anti aging serum
7. Night Cream
8. Face mask
9. Eye cream
10. Black head nose strip
End
Notes to editors:
The research was conducted in October 2011 with a sample of 5,000 British adults aged 18 upwards
The £14.1 billion has been calculated via the following equation:
On average Britons spend around £25 on toiletries per month 25 x 12 = 300
300 x UK adult population (46,930,337), source: National Bureau of Statistics
= 14 079 101 100