Investment in stores could pose challenges for online BPC retailers. Brands and retailers can better leverage the benefits of shopping online by making online reviews easy to filter, providing in-depth product information, and using social media to build brand personality.
Online BPC Market Landscape
Inclusivity and diversity in BPC is becoming an expectation, as over a third of online BPC shoppers have used accessibility tools on retailer/brand websites. Offering considered online tools and content helps brands/retailers ensure they are not at risk of isolating significant portions of the population. The ability to toggle bold colours, noises or pop-ups on and off can create an accessible purchase experience for neurodivergent consumers, whilst ensuring social media posts are captioned means consumers don’t miss out on brand messaging.
A primary threat to the online BPC market is the elevated experience of in-store shopping. Retailers (including H&B specialists and department stores) are investing in stores where consumers can access brand experts, try products and discover new brands. Online brands and retailers can respond by heightening convenience propositions, offering social media makeup or hair inspired masterclasses, and leveraging AI-enabled product recommendations.
BPC brands have been using social media for over a decade, but the advent of TikTok Shop and social commerce creates new opportunities, and means the journey from product discovery to purchase is virtually seamless. Brands and retailers can also align social media content with consumer preferences for tutorials and lifestyle content, to build a brand/retail personality that drives consumer affiliation and loyalty.
Online Beauty Market Statistics
- Online BPC market opportunity: 63% of UK adults purchase BPC products online.
- Online BPC market consumer behaviour: 35% of consumers compared the price of beauty/grooming products with another retailer.
Online BPC Market Report – What’s Inside?
Key Topics Analysed in the Report
- Drivers of growth in the online BPC market.
- What online BPC retailers can learn from in-store innovation.
- How to engage savvy and price-conscious consumers.
- The online purchase journey in the online BPC market.
- The types of social media content that appeal to consumers.
Report Scope
This Report examines the UK online beauty and personal care market, including retail sales through specialist and non-specialist retailers, as well as other online activities, such as product/brand research and social media engagement.
For the purposes of this Report, Mintel has used the following definitions for the beauty and personal care market:
- fragrances
- skincare (including facial skincare, hand, body and footcare, and suncare)
- colour cosmetics
- haircare (including hair colourants and styling)
- soap, bath and shower products
- oral hygiene
- shaving and hair removal
- deodorants
The Report excludes beauty and personal care devices, tools and accessories, data on this can be found in our UK Beauty and Grooming Devices, Tools and Accessories Report.
Meet the Expert Behind the Analysis
Georgia joined Mintel in 2022, writing UK reports for the Beauty, Personal care and OTC categories. Before joining Mintel, Georgia studied International Relations, earning a BA from the University of Birmingham. During her studies, she gained knowledge and experience of research methods and international business.
As the online BPC market continues to grow, brands can leverage social media and online retail to prompt product discovery and purchasing.
Georgia Stafford
Beauty & Personal Care Analyst
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Executive Summary
- Opportunities for the online BPC market
- Streamline the online purchase journey
- Maximise on the social media opportunity
- Strive for inclusivity
- Market dynamics and outlook
- Market size & forecast
- Market predictions
- The online BPC market is set to grow
- What consumers want and why
- Online retail is failing to recruit new buyers
- Grow the credibility of grocery retail in BPC
- Graph 1: types of retailers used to purchase beauty/grooming products online, 2024
- Use loyalty schemes to win over savvy shoppers
- Graph 2: the online beauty/grooming product purchase journey, 2024
- The need for improved access is not a niche issue
- Take a stand against filtering
- Use ingredient education to prove value
- Graph 3: preferred content from beauty/grooming brands and influencers, 2024
- Innovation and marketing
- Marketing captures consumer attention
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Market Dynamics
- Market size
- Online BPC has seen continued growth
- Graph 4: market size for online BPC, 2020-2024 (est)
- Fast-moving trend cycles encourage spending
- Consumers are looking to treat themselves
- Market forecast
- The BPC online market is set to grow
- Use online channels to prompt product discovery
- Market segmentation
- Products with instant effects will appeal
- Graph 5: estimated market segmentation for online BPC*, 2023-24
- The premiumisation of personal care drives online growth
- Channels to market
- Store-based H&B specialists outperform the market
- H&B retailers keep pace with social media trends
- Fashion retailers become more competitive
- Department stores underperform online
- Market drivers
- Provide affordable pick-me-ups in times of economic uncertainty
- Graph 6: the financial confidence index, 2016-24
- AI is met with varying levels of enthusiasm
- Graph 7: attitudes towards AI in the beauty/grooming industry, 2024*
- Make online shopping age-inclusive
- Graph 8: projected population breakdown, by age, 2023 vs 2028
- A rise in footfall could drive enthusiasm for in-store shopping
- Respond to the rise of online marketplaces
- The revival of K-Beauty benefits online
- Prestige retailers expand their estates beyond London
- What online can learn from stores
- Graph 9: drivers to shop for BPC products in-store, 2023
- Marry in-store with online
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What Consumers Want and Why
- Online purchase of beauty/grooming products
- Use of the online channel is consistent in BPC
- Graph 10: NET of channels used to purchase beauty/grooming products in the last 12 months, 2022-24
- Online retail is failing to recruit new buyers
- Consumers turn to online for personal care essentials
- Graph 11: channels used to purchase beauty/grooming products in the last 12 months, by category, 2024
- Online purchase of hair colourants picks up
- Graph 12: online purchase of beauty/grooming products, by category, 2023 and 2024
- Empower fragrance buyers online
- Types of retailers used to purchase beauty/grooming products online
- Online-only retailers overtake specialists
- Graph 13: types of retailers used to purchase beauty/grooming products online, 2024
- Drive online department store purchases
- Grow the credibility of grocery retail in BPC
- H&B retailers cater to savvy shoppers
- Find ways to marry premium BPC with Amazon
- Prepare to compete with Amazon
- Become an add-on purchase to clothing hauls
- Take cues from how fashion brands cope with the challenges of peer-to-peer selling
- Online-only retailers grow their customer numbers
- Graph 14: select online-only multi-brand BPC retailers, number of customers within the cohort, 2023-24
- DTC brands offering subscriptions find success
- Graph 15: select online-only multi-brand BPC retailers, repeat purchase rates, 2023-24
- Graph 16: select DTC beauty brands, repeat purchase rates, 2023-24
- Subscriptions win repeat customers
- The online purchase journey
- Online beauty buyers are price conscious
- Graph 17: the online beauty/grooming product purchase journey, 2024
- Cater to savvy shopping behaviours
- Use loyalty schemes to win over savvy shoppers
- Make online reviews more useful
- Encourage impulse purchases at click-and-collect
- An appetite for apps dwindles with age
- Graph 18: use of a brand/retailer’s app when shopping for BPC online and concern about being tracked closely by companies, by age, 2024
- Make online beauty/grooming tools easy-to-use
- Attitudes towards buying beauty/grooming products online
- Discount products, but not too much
- Graph 19: attitudes towards buying beauty/grooming products online, 2024
- Discounts divides consumers
- Less-than-perfect products offer two-way benefits
- Gamify the recommendation process
- Mintel’s concept generator creates three apps to gamify the beauty discovery process
- Inform and educate online
- Nudge consumers toward responsible choices
- The need for improved access is not a niche issue
- Reach impulse buyers on ultra-fast delivery apps
- Graph 20: purchase of beauty/grooming products on ultra-fast delivery services, by generation, 2024
- Attitudes towards social media and influencers
- Ensure social media content is relatable
- Graph 21: attitudes towards social media and influencers, 2024
- Take a stand against filtering
- Gift products to the relevant influencers
- Graph 22: trust in reviews of beauty/grooming products by reviewers who have been gifted the product, by generation, 2024
- Make social media trends accessible
- Tread carefully with AI
- The social media beauty landscape
- TikTok is a hub for the online beauty conversation
- Graph 23: following of beauty/grooming influencer and brands on social media, by top 5 most used social media platforms, 2024
- Authenticity resonates on social media
- Preferred social media content
- Consumers seek out relatable BPC content
- Graph 24: preferred content from beauty/grooming brands and influencers, 2024
- Offer modifications in tutorials for maximum accessibility
- Go beyond beauty on social media
- Build brand personality with lifestyle content
- Incorporate ASMR into content
- Use content to boost value perceptions and discoverability
- Sponsored content is met with disinterest
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Innovation And Marketing Trends
- Provenance provides transparency for dubious consumers
- Out-of-the-ordinary marketing
- Dove warns of the dangers of AI
- Cult Beauty encourages product discovery and taps into beautification trends
- Snapchat shows the potential for the high street of the future
- Use AI tools wisely to offer personalised shopping experiences
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Appendix
- Market forecast data and methodology
- Market forecast: constant and current prices
- Market forecast and prediction intervals
- Forecast methodology
- Report scope and definitions
- Market definitions
- Abbreviations and terms
- Consumer research methodology
- Snoop methodology
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