Q1 2023 beauty and personal care sales (mass and prestige combined) increased 13% year-over-year, totaling $22.5 billion, per NIQ, led by a 10% rise in in-store sales (totaling about $14 billion) and 17% jump in online sales (totaling about $9 billion).
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Key growth categories included fragrances (up 27%), color cosmetics and nails (up 19%), deodorant (up 18%), and hand and body lotion (up 16%). Top decliners included after shave, electric razors and nail appliances, sectors that have a relatively low need for repeat purchase. Self tanner and hand sanitizers also fell.
Growth came from brands of all sizes, but smaller brands drove the largest amount of growth compared to the top 20 manufacturers.
Decoding Beauty and Personal Care Retail
Online sales grew faster than in-store, though totals were smaller. That said, online shopper spend per basket almost doubled that of in-store counterparts. Still, even in-store purchase sizes are rising.
Online shoppers make purchases with greater frequency than in-store shoppers, but that couldn't reverse an overall decline in purchase frequency in beauty and personal care.
For the first time in a year, per NIQ, beauty and personal care unit sales are showing positive growth, though that growth is still outpaced by dollar sales increases. These gains come in spite of less promotional activity compared to last year and recent quarters.
