Beauty retailer Sa Sa International says the return of Chinese travellers to Hong Kong and Macau heralds a “promising start” to the new financial year.
Special Edition - Bright Beauty: Fun, Joy and Colour Across Cosmetics, Hair Care and Body Care
Testing products ahead of purchase remains an important part of the overall joy a beauty product brings to a consumer, says the head of the UK’s Cosmetic, Toiletry and Perfumery Association.
Beauty brands and retailers must invest in continuous relationship building with consumers via personalised, algorithmically orchestrated digital experiences across every step of the shopper journey, says the CEO of Finnish tech firm Revieve.
Retailers are getting more involved in ethical standards and certifications, with many creating in-house schemes for beauty brands stocked in-store and online, and this trend will continue to rise in importance, says the founder of Ecovia Intelligence.
UK beauty retailer Superdrug has unveiled its budget own-brand makeup range designed to provide better accessibility for all consumers – a move that aligns well with the cost of living crisis and consumer trends, says an expert.
Temporary retail spaces offer beauty brands opportunity to build hype and drive community post-pandemic – both key in an increasingly competitive UK market, says Mintel.
Shaved heads, no eyebrows and messy makeup are some of the latest visuals popping up in beauty as Generation Z emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic looking to flip the lid on dated, traditional narratives.
Peer-to-peer insight on a product or brand is the most powerful influencer in global retail purchases, signalling significant promise for beauty to provide more user-generated content in-store and online, says an expert.
Sustainable indie deo brand Wild Cosmetics has secured a flurry of major retail listings in the UK – a move it says will help refills reach new consumers and widen sustainability awareness and engagement.
Retail major A.S. Watson has grown digital beauty engagement across Superdrug and ICI PARIS XL with an AI-powered skin advisor tool co-developed with Finnish beauty tech firm Revieve – an innovation it plans to rollout across Asia next year.
Increased focus on self-care and wellbeing, a desire to find back joy and push forward with the green agenda are just some of the key trends set to shape the European, Middle East & African beauty market next year – here are our Top 5 EMEA trends...
UK indie brand Beauty Kitchen is upscaling its circular retail programme ‘Re’ that it says should drive meaningful and non-competitive change in the coming years, and its founder has high hopes of onboarding a plethora of big and small brands.
UK indie brand The Gruff Stuff wants to expand further internationally with its small range of no-nonsense skin care products it says offer welcome simplicity amidst an overly complicated category.
Amazon has long been an e-commerce goliath but as it edges deeper into beauty, brands should take note, especially given its model offers a lot of what today’s consumer wants, an expert says.
Unified commerce where online and offline are intrinsically linked, a sharper and smarter focus on data, and investment in the metaverse must be the future focus for beauty brands and retailers, says a retail expert.
Health and wellness retailer Holland & Barrett has stopped selling single-use beauty sheet masks across all UK stores and online and hinted at a future free of any single-use beauty item – a movement it says other retailers should follow.
Using Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies for the personalisation of beauty products is a golden opportunity for industry, particularly within a modern omnichannel model, says Wayne Liu, senior VP and general manager of Perfect Corp.
Retail major Walgreens Boots Alliance has partnered with app-based food delivery firm Deliveroo in the UK for a pilot scheme offering home deliveries of 400+ health and beauty items in select regions.
E-commerce will continue its insatiable rise over the next five years in beauty, with pureplay online retailers like Alibaba, Amazon and JD.com set to bolster significant growth and brand-retailer collaborations to prove key, says an expert.
UK e-commerce major The Hut Group has acquired premium British online retailer Cult Beauty in a deal that forms part of an incredible digital surge in beauty and healthcare for the group, says the retail research head at Mintel.
Sephora’s acquisition of British beauty e-commerce major Feelunique and tie-up with German online fashion retailer Zalando are clearly part of a move to capture younger beauty consumers, notably millennials and Gen Z, says an analyst.
French retail major Monoprix has developed a private label range of organic solid personal care products as part of wider efforts to expand its natural and responsible beauty offerings.
L’Oréal has partnered with TikTok on its pilot commerce feature, enabling consumers in the UK to purchase Garnier and NYX Professional Make-Up products directly via the app – a partnership the beauty major plans to expand over time.
The ongoing COVID-19 crisis has accelerated many pre-existing trends in beauty, most notably taking the rise of e-commerce to astonishing new heights with a particularly impressive transformation in Europe, says an expert consultant
UK e-commerce major The Hut Group has aggressively expanded in recent months, propelling it way ahead of competitors in health and beauty, but it must now deepen its customer base to continue leading in such a crowded market, says GlobalData.
Listen to Beauty 4.0 – A podcast by CosmeticsDesign-Europe
The future of beauty retail will see a unified commerce approach connecting online and offline that relies on data to provide highly tailored shopper journeys, experiences and products, says Simon Hathaway, EMEA MD of retail strategy agency Outform.
In conversation with the CTPA and British Beauty Council
Specific financial support from government will be critical if UK cosmetic and personal care businesses are to survive the latest nationwide lockdowns, say trade association heads.
A round-up of CosmeticsDesign-Europe’s most-read news from September 2020 shows significant interest in Watsons expanding into the Middle East and experts discussing cosmetic claims, natural beauty and green chemistry.
The franchise agreement for A.S. Watson to expand into the Middle East is hugely significant for the wider beauty category, given the purchasing power and value of this region, say analysts.
Beauty brands and retailers must blur physical retail with digital experiences to engage consumers in a post-pandemic world, and plenty can be learned from China, according to a retail design expert.
Asia-Pacific beauty retail major A.S. Watson Group is primed to expand into Gulf Cooperation Council countries under an exclusive franchise agreement with regional conglomerate Al-Futtaim.
Next-day shipping and 10% discounts are no longer enough to build brand affinity in beauty and as consumer touchpoints balloon, cross-channel and consistent marketing is crucial, says an online marketing expert.
Beauty retail has come full evolved beyond all recognition in the past few years, with digital retailers, social media and the growth of dedicated high street chains such as Ulta and Sephora all playing a part.