2025
9
US Consumers’ Path to Purchase – Spotlight on Beauty: 2025
2025-11-03T18:02:14+00:00
REPF6F778A5_EDF8_446A_B778_A5EDF8B46AF0
3695
188233
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Report
en_GB
The consumer journey in the beauty and personal care sector is a complex process shaped by a mix of emotional, social and practical drivers. This journey is dynamic, with various…
US
Health and Beauty Retail
simple

US Consumers’ Path to Purchase – Spotlight on Beauty: 2025

"To create a seamless experience for beauty shoppers, brands and retailers must bridge the gap across channels and personalize the experience with relevant options to facilitate decision-making."

Marisa Ortega, Analyst - Retail & eCommerce

Marisa Ortega, Analyst - Retail & eCommerce

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  1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

    • What you need to know
    • What consumers want and why
    • Opportunities
    • Opportunities along the beauty path to purchase
  2. MARKET DYNAMICS

    • Market drivers
    • Market context
    • Technology facilitates the shopping journey
    • Graph 1: attitudes toward shopping for beauty and personal care – any agree, by gender and age, 2025
    • Growing multicultural population drives a shift in values
    • Graph 2: population growth (% annual change), by race and ethnicity, 2010-23
  3. CONSUMER INSIGHTS

    • Consumer fast facts
    • Understanding the path to purchase
    • Sources of discovery
    • Digital channels present key opportunities to introduce consumers to new products and brands
    • Despite the growing influence of digital channels, the physical store maintains its relevance
    • Despite the growing influence of digital channels, physical stores remain essential
    • Graph 3: sources of discovery, 2025
    • rhode expands its reach by becoming available at Sephora
    • Unlock beauty discovery with TikTok
    • Glossier launches on TikTok Shop
    • Trusted sources of information
    • Build consumer trust with referrals, stores and SEO
    • Leverage referrals, stores and SEO to earn consumers’ trust
    • Graph 4: trusted sources for beauty and personal care information, 2025
    • AI is influencing younger consumers’ path to purchase
    • ChatGPT users can now go from searching to purchasing within the platform
    • Social media is paramount to influence multicultural consumers
    • Graph 5: trusted resources for beauty and personal care information, by race and Hispanic origin, 2024
    • Shopping behaviors
    • Price sensitivity is a major driver of brand switching
    • Price consciousness is most likely to lead consumers to switching brands
    • Graph 6: shopping behaviors, 2025
    • Consumers take individual and specific behaviors when shopping for beauty and personal care
    • Graph 7: shopping behaviors, by gender and age, 2025
    • Reviews are an important part of the beauty shopper journey
    • Graph 8: attitudes toward shopping for beauty and personal care, 2025
    • Thingtesting helps shoppers feel more confident to try new brands
    • Channel preferences and purchase drivers
    • Consumers shop across channels
    • The path to purchase is omnichannel
    • Graph 9: path to purchase preferences, 2025
    • Trust and value are critical for converting consumers
    • Graph 10: purchase drivers, 2025
    • Trust is the primary factor in influencing consumers to make a purchase
    • Sephora expands reach by taking partnerships to the next level
    • Women want benefits in exchange for their loyalty
    • Graph 11: purchase drivers, by gender and age, 2025
    • Attitudes toward beauty and personal care
    • In a crowded market where brands struggle to stand out, consumers often face decision paralysis
    • Younger consumers need help finding what they need
    • Graph 12: attitudes toward shopping for beauty and personal care – any agree, by age, 2025
    • e.l.f. Beauty debuts a shade finder
    • Leverage tutorials to engage younger beauty shoppers
    • Encourage purchases and prevent abandoned carts with added benefits for meeting a minimum order threshold
    • Graph 13: attitudes toward shopping for beauty and personal care – any agree, by age, 2025
    • The online impulse: how brands can drive extra buys
    • Graph 14: attitudes toward shopping for beauty and personal care – any agree, by gender and age, 2025
  4. INNOVATION AND MARKETING STRATEGIES

    • Rare Beauty leverages billboards as a sampling channel
    • Dossier expands its retail footprint
    • L’Oréal Paris launches an AI-powered beauty assistant
    • Pinterest turns inspiration into action
  5. APPENDIX

    • Consumer research methodology
    • Consumer research questions
    • Essentials drive the market
    • Graph 15: items purchased, 2025
    • Beauty products are the “sine qua non” for middle-aged women
    • Graph 16: items purchased, by gender and age, 2025
    • Generations
    • Abbreviations and terms
    • TURF methodology

The consumer journey in the beauty and personal care sector is a complex process shaped by a mix of emotional, social and practical drivers. This journey is dynamic, with various touchpoints across channels influencing purchasing decisions. For example, nearly one third of consumers aged 18-34 now use AI platforms to find reliable information about beauty and personal care, compared to just 17% to overall consumers. This shifting behavior opens up a new channel for marketers to connect with potential customers.

Beyond technology, economic conditions also play a crucial role in the shopping journey. Price comparison is a standard step for consumers to decide what to buy. With the current high cost of living and economic uncertainty, shoppers are frequently trading both up and down. This behavior underscores the importance of strategic pricing, product comparison tools and focusing on customer retention as a more reliable strategy than acquisition.

To succeed, brands must address consumer pain points and optimize every stage of the journey. By building trust and enhancing satisfaction, they can foster long-term loyalty. A commitment to authenticity, personalization and a seamless journey will not only encourage consumers to choose a brand or retailer but also to become its advocate.

This Report Looks at the Following Areas:

  • How the economy impacts the consumer journey
  • Technological solutions making shopping easier
  • Effective marketing channels for driving discovery
  • Shopping behaviors when considering what to buy
  • Aspects that drive consumers from consideration to action
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