It looked like a pricing problem. The habit was disappearing.
A large Indian CPG player was looking at shaving, where sales had been under pressure for years and the working explanation was price. Search told a different story. Men were not buying cheaper blades. They were reaching for a blade far less often.
searches a month about shaving in India — a large, long-established market
fewer searches about shaving than five years ago
the price jump from a razor to the trimmer that is replacing it
What the plan assumed
- A wet shave, every morning
- Blade replaced on a predictable cycle
- Price is the lever that moves volume
What men actually do
- A trim, every second or third day
- The clean shave survives as an occasion, not a routine
- Comfort is the lever — the razor never touches skin
Every 3rd day — how often men now tidy up with a trimmer, instead of shaving daily.
Why the market is shrinking
Men are not buying cheaper. They are shaving less.
Men describe keeping stubble at a set length with a trimmer every second or third day rather than shaving clean each morning. The clean shave survives as something you do for an occasion — an interview, a wedding, the start of a week — not as a daily routine.
The refill system feels like a trap
The handle is cheap and the blades never stop costing money. Men describe hunting for ways out: cheaper blades, older razor types, subscriptions. The anger is at the system, not the price — which is why a cheaper blade does not fix it.
A trimmer never has to touch the skin
Coarse hair, hard water and heat make a close shave uncomfortable for a lot of Indian men. A trimmer sidesteps that completely — it cuts above the skin rather than against it. The tool that replaced the razor did not win on price. It won on comfort.
The brief assumed the fight was about price. The evidence said the fight is about the habit itself — and that the thing worth selling is comfort rather than closeness. A cheaper blade competes for a shave that is no longer happening.
Men’s shaving and grooming tools · India · what people search for, buy and write about online. Search figures are counts of real monthly searches and how they have moved over five years. Consumer language is described, not quoted. Client name withheld.
URCHIN INTELLIGENCE · THE SCIENCE OF REVEALED REALITY
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