Navigating Cultural Shifts and Consumer Values

The perception of beauty has evolved over time, reflecting cultural shifts and consumer values while generating substantial market demand within the global economy. The appeal of beauty products has transitioned from purely aesthetic considerations to a focus on health consciousness, paving the way for the business of beauty that continues to expand daily. Driven by the convergence of competitive dynamics, shifting consumer behavior, and the innovative potential of emerging technologies, the beauty industry simultaneously acts as both a trendsetter and a follower.

Digital Interest Insights across the Five Key Beauty Categories

The beauty industry has consistently sustained strong digital interest globally over the past two decades, with its agility especially evident during the pandemic when swift adaptation to online retail ensured continued resilience. 

The sector comprises five key categories: skincare, makeup, personal care, haircare, and perfumery.  Since the mid-2010s, the skincare category has shown an increasing tendency, reflecting a more conscious consumer trend, while the makeup category has experienced a slight decline. Notably, the makeup segment exhibits clear seasonality, with demand peaking in October, driven by increased interest during the Halloween season.

How Beauty Retail Brands Leverage Social Media

Walking into any beauty retailer's social media today, one can observe a country-specific presence designed to tailor strategies to local preferences. For the brands under review, global social media presence was considered, with the exception of Notino, which demonstrates a stronger country-specific performance and a more substantial local follower base. As a result, for Notino, the Romanian social media profiles are included in the analysis.

All five brands leverage Instagram and Facebook as key pillars of their social media presence, with each boasting a substantial follower base on these channels. However, video-centric platforms such as TikTok and YouTube have not yet become major focal points, representing an untapped opportunity for expansion. 

Sephora emerges as the leader, holding the largest follower base across all social media channels used.

Webpage performance – Sephora stands out as the top performer 

The parameters of webpage performance are essential indicators of a website's user experience. Evaluating the desktop and mobile versions of these five beauty retail brands reveals an average performance score of 75 out of 100. This score indicates that these websites deliver fast loading times and enhanced interactivity for users. 

Overall, all five brands exhibit closely aligned performance metrics, providing a positive user experience that adheres to technical standards. Notably, Sephora stands out as the top performer.

In terms of search engine optimisation (SEO), Lookfantastic achieves an impressive score of 100, reflecting its effective content optimisation strategies. Following closely are Douglas and Notino, both scoring 92 out of 100. These results underscore a competitive landscape where SEO performance is crucial for attracting and retaining customers in the beauty retail sector.

‍According to Google’s page speed and performance standards, Sephora performs best on average desktop performance and Lookfantastic on average mobile performance.

Digital Popularity Trends in the Beauty Retail Sector

Beyond in-house strategies, the success and customer interest in beauty retail stores are significantly influenced by the unique appeal and popularity of the beauty brands they offer. From 2004 to 2023, the average yearly increase in consumer interest for the analysed brands is 6.87%. 

Sephora is the most searched beauty retail brand globally, followed by Notino, with both brands demonstrating above-average levels of interest.