Cosmetic and Beauty Supply Stores
Industry Profile Report
Dive Deep into the industry with a 25+ page industry report (pdf format) including the following chapters
Industry Overview Current Conditions, Industry Structure, How Firms Operate, Industry Trends, Credit Underwriting & Risks, and Industry Forecast.
Call Preparation Call Prep Questions, Industry Terms, and Weblinks.
Financial Insights Working Capital, Capital Financing, Business Valuation, and Financial Benchmarks.
Industry Profile Excerpts
Industry Overview
The 8,400 cosmetic and beauty supply retailers in the US sell cosmetics, perfumes, toiletries, and personal grooming products. Stores may carry a wide selection of products or a limited number of brands or categories. Some stores offer salon services. Full-service or exclusive distributors serve salons and salon professionals by selling “salon-only” or “professional-only” products at wholesale prices. Open-line stores serve retail consumers and salon professionals and carry a mix of products. The industry includes national and regional chains, franchises, and independent operators.
Trends and Fads Drive Demand
Fashion-related trends and fads drive demand for new cosmetics and beauty supplies.
Competition from Alternative Sources
Cosmetic and beauty supply stores compete with a variety of alternative sources, including traditional retailers (mass merchandisers, drug stores, department stores, supermarkets), salons, direct sales organizations, manufacturer-operated retailers, home shopping networks, and online-only retailers.
Industry size & Structure
The average cosmetic and beauty supply store operates out of a single location, employs about 20 workers and generates $2-3 million annually.
- The cosmetic and beauty supply retailing industry consists of about 8,400 firms that employ about 180,000 workers and generate about $22 billion annually.
- The industry is concentrated; the top 50 companies account for about 78% of industry revenue.
- Large companies include Sally Beauty Holdings; Sephora; Ulta Salon, Cosmetics, and Fragrance; and Perfumania Holdings. Large companies may have international operations.
- Some cosmetic and beauty supply manufacturers have retail operations. Estee Lauder has retail stores for M.A.C, Origins, and Aveda brands.
- The industry includes national and regional chains, franchises, and independent operators.
Industry Forecast
Cosmetic and Beauty Supply Stores Industry Growth
Recent Developments
Dec 13, 2024 - Rise in In-Store Shopping for Gen Z: Report
- Gen Z shoppers experienced the most substantial growth in brick-and-mortar beauty spending, an increase of 41% to $4.9 billion spent in 2024, according to a new report from NielsenIQ in Global Cosmetic Industry titled “Beauty Behavior Through the Generations.” Gen Z may be opting for a faster shopping experience in-store versus waiting for an online purchase to be delivered. The report also noted that Gen Z shoppers are most likely to shop at Sephora and Ulta regardless of income, unlike low income shoppers in other generations. Gen Z prefers brands that demonstrate social responsibility and offer clean beauty products made without ingredients such as aluminum, sulfates, and parabens. Beauty industry dollar sales grew 9.3% from 2023 to 2024, per NielsenIQ. Millennials contribute the most to overall beauty sales, while Millennials and Gen X have strong online penetration for beauty and personal care purchases.
- Shoppers are expected to return $890 billion worth of merchandise in 2024, accounting for approximately 16.9% of retailers’ annual sales, according to a report in Retail Dive by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and UPS’s Happy Returns subsidiary. In 2023, retailers accepted $743 billion in returns and lost $101 billion in returns fraud, per the NRF. More than three-quarters of shoppers surveyed factor free returns into their shopping decisions, and over two-thirds of shoppers say a negative returns experience at a retail store would dissuade them from doing business with them in the future, per the report. About 51% of Gen Z shoppers said they had purchased multiple items with the intent to return some of them, a practice known as bracketing. According to a separate survey by NRF, retailers are taking measures to address the higher-than-expected volume of returns during the winter holidays by seeking additional support from third-party logistics providers (40%) and hiring additional seasonal staff to specifically handle returns (34%).
- Consumer confidence levels increased in November 2024, improving by 2.1 points from the previous month, according to The Conference Board. The Consumer Confidence Index was 111.7 in November 2024 from 109.6 in October 2024. Dana Peterson, chief economist at The Conference Board, noted that those remaining most confident on a six-month moving average basis confidence were those aged under 35 and those in the income category of over $100,000. Per Peterson, “Consumer confidence continued to improve in November and reached the top of the range that has prevailed over the past two years.” Purchasing plans for homes stalled while plans to buy new cars rose slightly in November 2024 on a six-month average basis.
- Beauty and personal care products are on the holiday gift list in 2024, according to a new study by Prosper Insights & Analytics for the National Retail Federation. The survey showed the top items on consumers’ wish lists were gift cards (53%), clothing and accessories (49%), books and other media (28%), and personal care or beauty items (25%). Overall, consumer spending on the winter holidays is expected to reach a record $902 per person on average across gifts, foods, decorations, and other seasonal items, averaging about $25 more per person compared to a year ago.
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