P O W E R E D B Y :
Beauty’s Omnichannel
Overture
Data from NielsenIQ shows a dynamic category with shifting consumer preferences.
T
he beauty and per-
sonal care industry has
historically enjoyed
exceptionally strong
online penetration, but
the pandemic-inflicted
rise in omnichannel
shopping catapulted
e-commerce growth even further. While
consumers of all demographics have
indeed returned to stores, they continue
to rely on online shopping to meet needs,
given its convenience and easy product and
price comparison features – but not all cat-
egories and product segments are experi-
encing the same trends.
Newly released insights from
NielsenIQ reveal that the U.S. beauty and
personal care market is more dynamic,
and evolving much faster across the omni-
channel landscape than other segments.
Given the diverse range of beauty and
personal care consumers, there are a huge
range of needs that retailers and brands
must meet. The abrupt rise in omnichan-
nel shopping has reordered the beauty
retailing landscape to produce an entirely
new “omnichannel beauty battleground.”
NielsenIQ’s new panel-based
Omnishopper product produces the
industry’s most total view into omnichan-
nel consumption behavior by combining
online and offline consumption data.
Newly released Omnishopper insights
show that shoppers of all ages, economic
levels and demographic backgrounds are
shopping for beauty and personal care
differently than they were a year ago.
For example, recent beauty and per-
sonal care metrics reveal that online shop-
ping has unquestionably grown across the
segment throughout the pandemic. 63
percent of beauty and personal care con-
sumers are shopping online as of April
2021, versus just 46 percent of shoppers
in September 2019. In addition, the online
channel’s share of beauty and personal
care sales grew by 31 percent in 2020.
For shoppers, more time spent at
home has entailed more time to test and
try out new products, retailers, brands,
and channels. The data reveals strong
growth across beauty product categories
as the post-vaccine rollout progresses.
“We are seeing sales growth return
across all of the major beauty categories,
which coincided with the huge wave of
vaccinations during April/May of 2021,”
said NielsenIQ’s Beauty Vertical Senior
Vice President, Tara James Taylor.
Regarding some of the notable trends
shown by the company’s data, more niche
categories that declined during the pan-
demic, such as cosmetics and fragrances,
have begun to gain traction once again
with shoppers. Taylor said cosmetics
and fragrances, which were the hardest
hit categories during COVID-19, “have
finally returned to growth as socializing
has started to resume and people want to
look their best.”
And as consumers have recently begun
traveling again, the sun care segment has
been “the biggest winner so far this year,
with sales up 28 percent year-to-date.”
Different Habits Lead
Beauty trends and
to Different Baskets
consumer behaviors
It follows that specific beauty products
vary considerably
high in demand at the beginning of the
across generations.
pandemic have lost their luster over time.
“We see big declines in the products that
defined the early stage of the pandemic
as consumers were avoiding germs and
stuck at home: hand sanitizers, soaps, nail
polish, and at-home hair color,” Taylor
noted, adding that “COVID-19 forced
consumers to re-think their beauty rou-
tines. One of the enduring trends we are
watching is the growth in at-home beauty
treatments. We have seen huge increases
in the sales of at-home appliances for
facial care, nail care, and hair tools.”
NielsenIQ also found a heightened
interest in skin health, which was already
a focus area before COVID-19, but the
category grew significantly as people
wore less makeup and became “hyper-
aware” of their appearance during
video calls. As a result, moisturizers, eye
creams, and facial treatments all saw
double-digit growth this year.
And generationally, beauty trends and
consumer behaviors vary considerably.
Older consumers, for example, aged
55-plus, are driving sales of eye skincare,
facial moisturizers, toners, hair spray,
hair color, and cosmetic appliances while
younger consumers, under age 35, are
shopping for cosmetics, costume hair
color, bath additives, body exfoliators,
and facial cleaners.
Opening the Omnichannel
Conversation
But products aside, some lasting effects
of COVID-19 in the beauty sphere have
also heightened and completely changed
consumers’ expectations.
“One of the big differences between
consumers of different age groups is
where they shop for their beauty prod- but Baby Boomers’ shift to omnichan-
ucts,” Taylor said. “While younger nel may be the most surprising statistic:
consumers have been quicker to adopt Omnichannel shopping at Sephora was 23
online shopping, the older cohort has
much more loyalty to department stores, One of the big percent higher in the latest 26 weeks, and
22 percent higher at Ulta Beauty, closing
where they have been purchasing their
beauty products for years.”
differences the case on generational divides in omni-
channel shopping for beauty products.
The firm added that as department
stores continue to struggle and many close,
between The numbers prove that consumers’
continued shift toward omnichannel is
there is a unique opportunity for retailers
to capture the older beauty consumer.
consumers of undoubtedly worthy of discussing and
distilling – from perusal to purchase. ​​It is
But the surest bet for capturing any
beauty consumer is through omnichannel,
different age also clear that shopper preferences shift
quickly in today’s market, which means
which combines both brick-and-mortar
and all digital sales. According to the latest
groups is where brands and retailers need to merchandise
at the speed of the consumer.
data from NielsenIQ, gathered from omni- they shop for With a diverse array of new omni-
channel, brick-and-mortar, and online channel shoppers comes a diverse array
sales, beauty retailers such as Sephora have their beauty of new shopping behaviors and con-
dominated with its omnichannel approach: sumer preferences, which will continue
In the latest 26 weeks ending May 22, 2021, products.” to transform as e-commerce becomes
its omnichannel sales rose 18 percent; and further integrated into consumers’ rou-
for Ulta Beauty, 35 percent. Tara James Taylor, tines. Retailers must identify who their
Interestingly, specifically for the Senior Vice President of new shoppers are, where they’re coming
Gen-Z cohort, omnichannel sales for NielsenIQ’s Beauty Vertical from, and need to cater to their needs
the same retailers rose a staggering 32 if they want to maintain and further
percent and 50 percent, respectively; the expand their new customer base.
same trend can be seen with Millennial And this is why it is essential for compa-
shoppers, who drove omnichannel Gen-X drove omnichannel sales nies to have a total view into omnichannel
increases of 16 percent and 59 percent, increases at Sephora and Ulta Beauty consumption data by leveraging tools such
versus that same time period a year prior. at rates of 23 percent and 28 percent – as NielsenIQ’s Omnishopper product.