Health and Beauty Market Segmentation and Performance

In 2024, online sales are expected to make up 19.2% of the total revenue of the beauty and personal care industry. Growing year on year, this trend highlights how consumers continue to shift toward digital platforms for purchasing skincare, cosmetics, and wellness products, driven by convenience, personalised shopping experiences, and wider product accessibility.

Understanding the Health and Beauty eCommerce Shoppers

• Demographics: 51% of makeup shoppers aged 18-34 buy products online, whereas of those aged 35 and over, only 33% buy online.
  
• Generational Differences: UK-based millennials are significantly more likely to purchase beauty products online in the UK, followed by 28% of Gen X and 18% of Baby Boomers.
  
• Gender Gap: 38% of women purchase beauty products online, compared to a quarter of men. However, women who buy online are more likely to live in rural areas, but men who buy beauty products online are more likely to live in urban areas.

Top Retailers of Health and Beauty Products

Boots is the most visited beauty and cosmetics website in the United Kingdom with around 15 million users a month. This is followed by Superdrug with 5 million, and Lookfantastic with 3 million.

On Amazon, health and personal care sales took up almost a third of the platform’s entire eCommerce sales in 2024.

Emerging Trends in Health and Beauty eCommerce

• Omnichannel shopping – Beauty shoppers are becoming more likely to be omnichannel – buying online and in physical stores
• Social Selling – Many online buyers now rely on buying beauty products through Instagram and TikTok. 1 in 3 TikTok users use the app to discover and consider new beauty and personal care brands.
• Augmented reality– AR tools are helping to improve customer experience, especially with the integration of Snapchat’s AR tools on brand websites.
• Sustainability – The clean beauty trend is becoming more popular as demand for cruelty-free and ethically sourced products increases.

Payment Preferences for Health and Beauty Consumers

Beauty consumers are spending more on mobile than on desktop, with 48% of cosmetics and beauty shoppers using a mobile phone for every purchase, so mobile payment gateways such as Apple Pay and GPay.  

Many consumers want to indulge in beauty and wellness products even if they’re on a budget, leading to a surge in buy now, pay later (BNPL) payments.