UK BPC Online Market Report 2024
Market Intelligence Reports - What's Included
- Interactive Databook
- Multiple Report Formats
- Access to Clients Portal
- Custom Presentation Tool
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 size: The value of the UK Online BPC market reached £3.43 billion in 2024.
- 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
Collapse All
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
Why Choose Mintel?
Mintel is the world’s leading market intelligence agency. We show you how consumers think today and tomorrow. As a trusted partner to industry leaders, we deliver game-changing insights to businesses across the globe, fuelling their marketing and innovation strategies that will shape the future.
Access high-quality market research with every purchase of Mintel’s consumer reports. Here’s what else is included in your report purchase:
- Multiple Report Formats: Mintel’s reports are available in PDF and PPT formats, and are delivered straight to your inbox, so you can easily share Mintel’s market intelligence.
- Access to Mintel’s Clients Portal: After your purchase is completed, you’ll receive an invitation to join Mintel’s Clients Portal, providing instant access to supplementary insights from Mintel’s industry experts.
- Interactive Databook: Mintel’s bespoke consumer data is presented as an interactive website, so you can deep dive into your chosen topic, explore demographics and download specific statistics.
- Custom Presentation Tool: Easily incorporate selected research data and analysis into a tailor-made presentation to win over clients and stakeholders.
Below is a generic PDF sample report. Understand what you are buying.
Please Note: All of the figures, graphs, and tables in this sample report have been redacted.
£ 2,195 (Excl.Tax)
- Instant access when you pay by credit card
- Add multiple reports to your cart to receive a discount
Is this report right for you?
From consumer reports to customised growth strategies. We have an option to suit your business requirements.
Find out morePopular Related Reports
UK Diversity in BPC Report 2025
£ 2,195
Once a prominent topic of discussion, the momentum behind diversity and inclusion appears to have waned, as 52% of UK adults are uncertain...
Find out moreUK Colour Cosmetics Market Report 2025
£ 2,195
In the UK, 53% of makeup buyers use more premium makeup brands than standard ones, indicating a continued desire for high quality makeup products, even in the face...
Find out moreUK Soap, Bath and Shower Market Report 2025
£ 2,195
Meet consumer interest in increasing product repertoires In the UK, 55% of SBS users would be interested in using multiple body washes to achieve...
Find out moreUK Gifting in BPC Market Report 2025
£ 2,195
Non-western gifting occasions are an opportunity The increasing diversity in the UK offers BPC brands and retailers a significant opportunity to tap into culturally inclusive gifting by aligning products...
Find out moreUK Online Grocery Retailing Market Report 2025
£ 2,195
Our grocery retail analysis shows that online sales returned to real terms growth in 2024. The market is moving into a new phase, where the focus will be...
Find out moreUK Facial Skincare Market Report 2025
£ 2,195
Growth in the UK skincare market has slowed (value sales increased 7.9% in 2024). However, there are still opportunities for growth if brands offer a personal approach by...
Find out moreTrusted by global industry leaders
At Jackman, we believe that powerful strategies are based on human insight. Mintel’s leading-edge reports and insights into consumer attitudes and behaviors are an important input as we develop and execute strategy.
Alana Gavin, VP Research and Insights, Jackman
We use Mintel Reports, mostly for financial services and ecommerce markets, plus a few retail and technology ones.
As a leading payments provider, we value additional insights into consumer behaviour, opinions and trends that are shaping the many different markets we operate in. Mintel is a very good and very quick way for us to obtain those insights.
We use Mintel to get a view on where a particular market is going, which can support us in product development and help us identify opportunities or indeed risks, it is a very useful barometer of a market’s potential.
Andrew Neeson, Market Intelligence Manager, VocaLink
Working in a customer-obsessed organization means that data and insights have to be at our fingertips. Mintel’s reports help us support anecdotes with real quantifiable insights. The summary sections (which I really like) helps save time by giving a birds eye view of the content before spending time combing through the pages.
Our business review discussions are strengthened by the relevancy of the reports to help us better understand our customers. In addition, the customer service received from the team (especially in crunch periods) makes the process of understanding customer behavior even better.
Ngozi Ngonadi-Nkwoji, Senior Marketing Manager, Amazon
We’ve found it so useful working more closely with Mintel. They helped support our recent flagship event for our top suppliers by providing a really unique viewpoint on the future of online retailing.
Nick Carroll from their Retail Team was also an excellent panelist, sharing useful and actionable consumer insights. We definitely look forward to working with Mintel again on future projects.
Zac Steele, E-Commerce Trading Development Manager, Waitrose & Partners
We have such a great working relationship with Mintel on lots of different levels. As an insight partner, they have helped us to develop our business planning in specific categories as well as supporting our creative process but they’ve also been super helpful with facilitating our events in their inspirational offices near St Paul’s.
They’re an innovative company, with a client-focused team that always delivers.
Abby Carvosso, Group Managing Director, Bauer Media Group
Is this report right for you?
From consumer reports to customised growth strategies. We have an option to suit your business requirements.
Find out more
