As the fruit of an initiative supported by the FFPS (French Federation of Selective Perfumery), in January 2017, The NPD Group started following up online sales* on the selective beauty market: they have just unveiled the main trends of this channel for the first time. In 2016, these purchases represented €M147 in value, a 21% growth compared to the previous year. Skincare comes first in online sales.
FFPS release
While the French market of Prestige beauty recorded a decline in 2016, partly due to a strong decrease in the tourist trade after the Paris attacks, online sales have been consistently rising since 2014.
‘The performance of online beauty product sales itself has made the whole industry gain one point of growth. As sales in-store have been declining, this phenomenon is particularly significant: it is long-lasting and strong enough to go against the tide, compared to what was observed, overall, in 2016,’ analyzes Mathilde Lion, Beauty Expert Europe at The NPD Group. ‘Online sales represent 5% of global sales in selective beauty, which is much lower than other markets we have been following, like sporting goods or toys. Indeed, on the one hand, the selective distribution contract limits the penetration of pure players, and, on the other hand, consumers need to smell perfumes and test skincare and makeup products in store.’
If it lies far behind the United Kingdom, where the market is much more connected and the share of beauty products sold online is more than twice important (11.5% of the total turnover), France is still better positioned than Spain (1.4%), and Italy (1.5%).
