07.22.22
As we head into the second half of the year, prestige beauty is on the rise across all categories—and premiumization is at the core. U.S. Prestige Beauty sales rose 16% in Q2 of 2022, over 2021 first-quarter sales.
According to Larissa Jensen, beauty industry advisor, The NPD Group—and a member of Beauty Packaging’s Board of Advisors:
“In addition to its strong revenue growth, beauty is the only industry with rising unit sales so far this year across the 14 discretionary retail industries tracked by NPD in the U.S.— a testament to its resilience considering the beauty industry reverted to 2015 sales levels in 2020.”
Jensen notes: “Premiumization is happening among the three categories performing the best; while fragrance and hair’s average prices are up due to consumer spending on higher-priced, luxury items, makeup—which has traditionally been one of the most promotional beauty categories—is experiencing a pricing rise due to less promotions.”
It's lipstick for the win
Although makeup sales revenue in Q2 ($2.0 billion, a rise of 18%) continued to be lower than pre-pandemic 2019 levels, the makeup category surpassed pre-pandemic unit sales by 1% in Q2 2022, versus the same period in 2019.With masks off, lipstick was the big winner in this category, with increased sales revenues of 28% in Q2.
Fragrance prices are 25% higher
In Fragrance, the average price is currently 25% higher than it was three years ago.In Q2 alone, the average price for fragrances increased by 6%, versus 2021, which is double the rate of the rest of the beauty industry. Total sales rose 13% to reach $1.5 billion for Q2 2022.
Jensen says, “While inflation plays a role, the elevated pricing for fragrances is also about an increase in purchasing higher-priced product.”
Skincare sales rose by 12%
Skincare sales rose by 12% to $1.7 billion, with body-care products continuing to outpace facial skincare.“Skincare brands are upping the ante, by using ingredients like Vitamin C, retinol and algae that are traditionally found in facial products,” said Jensen. In Q2, sunscreen sales grew by 51%, versus last year.
Hair care is the fastest-growing category in beauty
Hair care continues to be the smallest yet fastest-growing category in the beauty market. In Q2, sales revenue grew across almost all segments including hair care, styling, and color.Sales rose 24% over the previous year’s quarter to reach $781 million. In Q2 of 2022, clean hair brands comprised almost one-quarter of the hair category universe, which is a 5-point gain from the same period last year.
