Stock for imported men's make-up products during this year's "Double 11" shopping festival has increased by more than 3,000 percent compared with that of the same period last year, according to recent data.

Customers buy cosmetics in a duty free shop in Haikou, south China’s Hainan province. (Photo/Luo Yunfei)

According to data recently released by an online express platform, nearly 10 million tons of goods prepared for the "Double 11,” also known as Single’s Day, shopping festival have been put into the warehouse, with an average of 7.1 kg for each Chinese person, almost double the size of goods during the festival in 2019.

Imported cosmetics, health care products and baby and maternal products still account for the biggest proportion of the stock. Prepared by cosmetic category merchants, the data shows that facial skincare, women's care products, and household care products are the top three categories of projects for stock this year.

(Photo/pixabay.com)

The transformation from traditional "rough men" to "delicate boys" in China does not happen overnight.

In 2018, the consumption of men's cosmetics on an e-commerce platform increased by 89 percent compared with the same period in 2017, and the year-on-year growth rate of men's cosmetics sales ranked first in the cosmetics category.

A makeup artist apply the makeup to a model. (Photo/Chinanews.com)

During the pre-sale period of the Single’s Day shopping festival in 2019, the first day for the pre-sale of men's makeup products increased by 56 percent compared with the same period in 2018. BB cream for men, topping the rank in sales, was bought by more than 80,000 consumers.

Today, the data on the stock for men's makeup products increasing by 3,000 percent reflects the inevitable trend of the development of "men's makeup cosmetics.” The fast-growing categories of men's products in 2020 include men's perfume, eyebrow pencil, foundation, toner, and contour and highlight sticks, according to Tu Xian, head of a global brand and supply chain of an e-commerce company.

According to Euromonitor International, a London-based market research company, retail sales in China's male beauty market have grown at an average annual rate of 13.5 percent between 2016 and 2019, compared with the global average of 5.8 percent.

A nail technician beautifies nails for a man at China Skills Competition 2018. (Photo/Chinanews.com)

"Many people's stereotype of 'men don't like shopping' stems from the fact that men are usually reluctant to go shopping. However, with the development of the Internet, the popularity of e-commerce and the continuous maturity of express delivery and mobile payment, the shopping needs of male consumers in pursuit of efficiency and convenience are being met, influencing men's desire to shop," said Fu Yifu, a senior researcher at Suning Institute of Finance.

"The awakening of personal consumption consciousness has promoted the prosperity of the male consumer market," Fu said, noting that with the development of the economy and society, the economic strength of men continues to improve, and the pursuit of career also promotes this group to expand in the field of social contact, thus paying more attention to the improvement of the external image, clothes selection and personal taste.