Beauty and personal care is one of Europe’s most popular and fastest-growing e-commerce categories, with shopping trends evolving rapidly due to economic shifts, technological innovations and changing consumer values. is ranked. To stay competitive, brands must strategically leverage their consumer data and adopt agile e-commerce strategies such as shoppable media.
The latest benchmark from the MikMak Shopping Index provides valuable insight into the key drivers shaping beauty and personal care e-commerce across Europe’s five largest markets: the UK, France, Germany, Spain and Italy.
Meta leads the way, but TikTok’s growth shakes up social commerce in beauty and personal care
Meta platforms Facebook and Instagram currently lead social commerce traffic for multichannel consumer brands on the MikMak platform through shoppable media and point-of-purchase solutions. However, TikTok’s influence is rapidly increasing.
A global analysis from 2023 to 2024 showed that Meta saw a 10% increase in brand traffic, compared to a staggering 190% increase for TikTok, according to MikMak data. Despite regulatory concerns, TikTok’s growth remains strong, especially in beauty and personal care, where user engagement is surging.
Based on intent-to-purchase clicks, a MikMak metric that measures in-market shopper traffic to retailers, TikTok surpassed Meta among UK and French beauty shoppers in Q3 2024 . Meanwhile, YouTube has emerged as a significant player in the personal care space, breaking into the top three in this quarter’s rankings.
As consumer preferences evolve due to factors such as demographics, product categories, and platform capabilities, brands must adapt their strategies to optimize performance across multiple social platforms.
Amazon competes with specialty retailers for beauty and personal care e-commerce traffic
Amazon continues to expand its presence in the beauty and personal care space. eMarketer attributes Amazon’s growth in the U.S. to strategic initiatives such as expanding its premium brand products and holding exclusive beauty sale events.
In Europe, Amazon is particularly strengthening its position in the personal care sector. In France, Amazon also saw a 9 percentage point increase in beauty shopper traffic compared to last year, although it lost the top spot among the top five retailers to specialty retailer Nosy Be.
Despite Amazon’s growing influence, specialty retailers such as Boots in the UK, Nocibé in France and Douglas in Germany remain strong, accounting for more than a third of shoppers across Europe. .
What to expect from the fourth quarter onwards
The fourth quarter of 2023 was the strongest period for beauty and personal care brands in Europe, with personal care traffic peaking in November and beauty sales at their highest in December. Online sales in these areas are predicted to increase by 10%, indicating another strong year ahead.
But as the rising cost of living reshapes consumer behavior, brands must closely track data and shape their marketing strategies to stay competitive and drive profitable e-commerce growth. Must be optimized. Here are some trends to keep an eye on.
– Premium vs Affordable
Shoppers are looking for discounts, offers and affordable alternatives to luxury products, while balancing luxury appeal with affordability and focusing on quality ingredients. This trend is especially evident among Gen Z consumers.
– Gen Z and TikTok
Gen Z first turns to TikTok, then Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook to discover and evaluate brands. As this group drives conversations around affordability and product research, brands must leverage these platforms to stay competitive.
– Fragrances and special beauty care
Fragrances lead beauty shopper traffic in Europe, followed by concealers, foundations and makeup advent calendars. In the personal care category, cleansing gels and specialty dermocosmetics for skin and hair treatments are top performers, with items such as anti-pigment serums showing high purchase intent.
– Growth of shoppable media
Shoppable media advertising for beauty and personal care brands is expected to grow significantly across Europe next year, driven by increased digital ad spend and the growing need to optimize marketing profitability for brands.
By effectively leveraging shoppable media and point-of-purchase solutions, brands can streamline the shopping experience and make it easier for consumers to find and shop at their favorite retailers. Advanced solutions like MikMak enable brands to maximize e-commerce opportunities and analyze marketing ROI through consistent and consistent first-party data collection across the digital media mix.
For more insights, best practices, and case studies, download MikMak’s latest guide: How to drive beauty & personal care e-commerce in Europe.
