Lockdown Brits: To spend £31 billion to look good on screen in 2021

Lockdown Brits are helping to drive the New Year, New You economy with nearly 40% of Brits thinking it’s a good time to enhance their appearance while out of the office.

The new research by SmileDirectClub, today reveals that the nation is planning to spend a whopping £31 billion in 2021 on beauty tweakments and going under the knife, with one in ten (21%) hoping it will help to improve their appearance on screen time, as people work from home.

Men are more concerned about improving their looks for screen time versus women, with more men wanting to change their appearance to look better on video calls (15% men vs 7% women) and for social media channels (14% men vs 9% women). 

The study found that the average person is set to spend around £1,515 each on beauty transformations in 2021 and top of the wish list is keeping fit (47%), followed by teeth whitening (47%), teeth aligner therapy (26%), anti aging treatments (22%), breast enlargement (11%), hair transplant (11%), liposuction (10%), nose job/reshaping (8%) and lip fillers (8%).  

When asked why they have decided to invest in their physical appearance, one in five (19%) Brits say the pandemic has made them focus more on taking care of themselves. Specific reasons include 45% saying they want to boost confidence, 45% wanting to build self esteem and 24% wanting to try something new. Of those surveyed, 13% say their desire to change is driven by looking better for dating, 12% to help boost passion with their partner, whilst 10% want to look better on video calls and 11% to look better on social media. 

David Cran, Vice President U.K, Ireland & Iberia at SmileDirectClub, comments: “The New Year is the perfect opportunity for Brits to make simple changes to their personal life and appearance, including health and wellness habits, which could have a positive impact on their confidence and self esteem in the longer term. Working from home will give British workers more time and freedom to fit in personal transformations with their career goals for 2021.

With 40% of nationals not liking their teeth, it’s really positive to see that people are planning on creating a smile they love in 2021. This will hopefully result in a lot more happiness and laughter next year.” 

58% of Brits also think that colleagues and bosses won’t notice them recovering from surgical procedures whilst they’re at home, with many medical practices staying open during lockdown.

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels.