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SALT LAKE CITY — The marketing world has been taken over by influencers. Companies pay them to post about their products on social media – sometimes handsomely.
For all the eye rolls women have endured for clichés about vanity and overspending on beauty, it is largely men who are most influenced by these influencers.
The UWM Men's Shop in downtown Salt Lake City caters to fellas who like to look sharp. Upstairs, you'll find some of the fanciest clothes to be found. Downstairs, some of the fanciest trims.
Jordan Zaugg owns the barbershop where looking pretty is embraced.
"They care about how others see them, and it's a great way for them to care about how they look but also feel that masculine connection," Zaugg said. "To feel like a man."
Beauty is big business.
According to data from LendingTree, Americans spend an average of $1,754 a year on beauty products, cosmetics and services. And make no mistake, that spending is being influenced by the aptly named influencers.
Forty-six percent of Americans say social media has convinced them to spend more on beauty.
Here's something that may surprise you: It is men, more than women, where these influencers are finding success.
"Men are not immune to the whims of vanity," said Ismat Mangla, LendingTree's senior director of content.
Mangla says data from Deloitte shows men spend $2,256 annually on their beauty supplies, while women spend $1,283 – just about 75% more. The same analysis found men spend nearly 40% more on beauty products and services splurges than women.
"Men are just as likely to splurge as women, and they do tend to spend more money than women do," she said.
Back at UWM Men's Shop, Zaugg says you can feel beautiful and still feel like a man, "whether it's beauty, whether it's charming, or handsome."
While the research also points to some overspending regrets, he honors dudes who want to look their best along with the influencers who normalize it.
"Influencers have made it easier for men to want that, but for it to be acceptable to be that tough man," Zaugg said.
So, why are men more susceptible to the charms of influencers than women? Hard to say for sure, but with so much marketing being targeted at women for generations now, perhaps women have gotten a little better at filtering it.
