Nanotechnology In Personal Care: Revolutionizing Skincare, Haircare, And Cosmetics With Nano-Enhanced Products

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate consumer perceptions and behaviors towards nano-enhanced personal care products, with an emphasis on factors affecting safety perception and willingness-to-pay-a-premium as well as demographic influences i.e. age, gender.

Objective: the main aim is to recognize essential factors influencing nano-enhanced personal care products consumer purchase decisions and investigate the effect of demographic variables mainly like age, gender on these is studied. Secondly, the study also aims to investigate the relationship between perceived safety and willingness of pay a premium for these products.

Methodology A cross-sectional survey research design was used to collect data from 190 individuals who are potential consumers of nano-enhanced personal care products. The sample was diverse in terms of age and gender. Data were analyzed through ANOVA, T-tests, correlation analysis and logistic regression using a Chi-square tests. These tests were used to explore the association of demographic variables, safety perceptions and familiarity with nanotechnology with willingness-to-pay a premium. The results were further visualized using boxplots, violin plots, scatterplots, bar plots, and heatmaps to provide clear and insightful graphical representations of the data, enhancing the interpretation of statistical findings.

Results: The ANOVA result indicated no significant difference in safety perceptions across age groups (F (4,185) = 0.579, p = 0.677), while T-tests revealed no significant gender differences (t (188) = -0.059, p = 0.953). A weak and non-significant correlation was found between age and safety perception (r = 0.080, p = 0.267), as shown in the scatterplot. Logistic regression analysis identified age as a significant predictor of willingness to pay a premium (β = 0.256, p = 0.041), though safety perception was not a significant factor (β = -0.130, p = 0.296). Chi-square tests showed no significant association between gender and either familiarity with nanotechnology (χ² (6) = 6.201, p = 0.401) or willingness to pay a premium (χ² (6) = 5.567, p = 0.473). The statistical findings were supplemented with graphical visualizations: boxplots illustrated the distribution of safety perceptions across age groups, violin plots compared gender differences in safety perceptions, scatterplots depicted the correlation between age and safety perception, bar plots showed logistic regression coefficients, and heatmaps visualized associations in the Chi-square tests.

Practical Implications: The findings suggest that marketing strategies for nano-enhanced personal care products should emphasize efficacy and innovation over safety concerns, as these factors are more likely to influence consumer purchasing decisions. Additionally, the study highlights the importance of targeting a broad demographic, as age and gender do not significantly impact safety perceptions or familiarity with nanotechnology. Building consumer confidence and ensuring product safety will require well-defined, science-based regulations.

Novelty: The current research presents a better understanding of effectual variables influencing consumer perceptions about nano-product in personal care domains, with respect to interactions between safety perception, WTP and some aging factors like gender. These results have important implications, including the fact that marketers should not assume demographic factors drive consumer behavior and must pursue alternative marketing strategies in a changing economic

environment. Conclusions: The results suggest that except for the presence of ingredient-related health concerns, which overall has a negative impact on consumer perceptions; other factors such as perceived benefits, efficacy and novelty factor rather than risk/risk perception appears to be strong drivers in shaping attitudes toward nano personal care products. Young consumers are much more willing to pay a premium for "gender neutral" products than older generations, though gender does not appear to have any significant effect of how frequently people buy these items. Implications for Personal Care Marketers, Product Development and Regulatory Authorities