Beauty Industry: Ecommerce Market (2017–2029)
The global beauty industry market size is forecast to expand by 3.3% in 2024, to $646.2 billion. By 2028, revenues are projected to hit $736.8 billion. With ecommerce currently the fastest-growing channel for beauty items worldwide, significant growth in the online beauty and personal care products market is also anticipated.
How much revenue is generated by the beauty market online? In this article, we delve into the ecommerce beauty industry’s recent performance and analyze its projected revenues.
Beauty industry: Ecommerce market (2017–2024)
|
Year |
Total beauty industry ecommerce revenue |
|
2017 |
$96.5 billion |
|
2018 |
$115.2 billion |
|
2019 |
$132.6 billion |
|
2020 |
$166.1 billion |
|
2021 |
$201.7 billion |
|
2022 |
$196.6 billion |
|
2023 |
$202.6 billion |
|
2024 |
$227.3 billion |
|
2025 |
$257.5 billion |
|
2026 |
$286.5 billion |
|
2027 |
$312.8 billion |
|
2028 |
$327.2 billion |
|
2029 |
$338.9 billion |
A recent analysis of the online beauty and personal care products market shows that digital sales of these items are forecast to rise by 12.2% in 2024, to $227.3 billion. This increase is nearly four times faster than the 3.1% growth recorded in 2023.
The same data shows fluctuations in online beauty sales in recent years. In 2017, revenues totaled $96.5 billion, before rising by 19.5% the following year, to $115.2 billion. Double-digit growth continued for three more years, peaking above 20% in 2020 and 2021, as sales surpassed $200 billion. In 2022, revenues fell by 2.5%, to $196.6 billion, the only decline forecast from 2017 to 2029.
The sharp increases in 2020 and 2021 and the subsequent dip in 2022 can be attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic. As brick-and-mortar stores closed, consumers turned to online channels for their beauty needs. The decline in 2022 came as lockdowns were lifted and physical stores reopened. However, the online beauty market recovered from the fall in 2023, growing by 3.1%.
Beauty industry: Ecommerce market forecast (2025–2029)
According to analysts, the beauty market’s online sales are anticipated to continue rising through 2029. Over the next four years, sales are projected to rise at an average annual growth rate of 8.4%, reaching $338.9 billion by 2029.
Key drivers of the growing ecommerce beauty industry
Experts have identified several key factors driving the growth of ecommerce in the beauty sector. These include the expansion of beauty products by ecommerce giants like Amazon in the US and Tmall in China, enhanced digital features from direct-to-consumer brands, and the rise of social selling.
If you’re thinking about entering the online beauty industry as a merchant, you’d be interested to know what the fastest-growing products are. In 2024, these are expected to be:
- Fragrances (+13.9% in revenues)
- Cosmetics (+13.3%)
- Beauty tech (+13.1%)
Meanwhile, beauty items generating the highest revenues online are:
- Personal care: $127.3 billion
- Cosmetics: $47 billion
- Skin care: $41.1 billion