It is regarded as an essential personal grooming product, and even more so during the hot weather. Yet a generation of young men appears to be ditching the deodorant as soaring graduate unemployment changes their habits and squeezes their finances, according to research by the Grocer magazine.
It found that 7% of young men aged between 17 and 24 have stopped using deodorant at least once a week; a further 5% in the same age group have stopped washing their hair; while 5% have stopped styling their hair at least once a week. The figures were backed up by data from consumer group Kantar Worldpanel, showing a fall in sales.
The unsavoury statistics are partly the result of soaring graduate unemployment, according to Kantar analyst Samuel Hart, who said: "The core driver for using deodorant as part of a routine is getting ready for work. Unemployment removes this."
Growing indifference to personal hygiene has hit the male grooming market hard in the past year. The value of sales has fallen 2.3% while volumes have slipped by 1.1%, Kantar said.
Large supermarkets questioned the figures, however. Sainsbury's said young men were still spending money on personal grooming products, including deodorant and hair styling products, with sales influenced by the "One Direction effect".
Supermarket chain Waitrose said "high efficacy' deodorant creams with longer staying power had surged in popularity, particularly for camping and festivals.
Beauty buyer David Mitchell said: "Sales of 'high efficacy' deodorant creams are showing the fastest growth in this area. Available for both men and women, we have seen sales for both increase by 30%-40% consistently over the past few months.
"They are seemingly less affected by the weather than other deodorant types. With claims to have 48 or even 72 hours of protection, they can be used less frequently than a regular deodorant. Prolonged strong sales show they are popular beyond summer use such as camping and the festival season – where showers aren't always available."
According to market leader Uniliever, which manufactures major brands such as Dove, 80 % of UK and Ireland consumers prefer aerosols to roll-on or stick deodorants, and 19m cans of female aerosol deodorant are used each year in the UK.
