Skin care is becoming a bigger category for holiday sales, according to Beekman 1802 CEO Jill Scalamandre.
“It used to be body and fragrance, fragrance numero uno, then would come body, and then hair and then skin,” Scalamandre told Digital Commerce 360. “Now, skin is in the same place as hair and getting close to body.”
The COVID-19 pandemic “played a big part” in skin care’s growth as a segment, Scalamandre said. People were at home and not wearing makeup. As a result, the makeup category suffered during the pandemic, but the skin care segment grew.
“Now, a lot of people are going away from masks more toward daily moisturizers and new cleansers and eye creams, but the category is back to pre- if not bigger than pre-COVID era,” Scalamandre said.
Holiday 2023 sales growth strong for Beekman 1802
In Beekman 1802’s case, the retailer benefits from being both a body and skin care brand. Scalamandre said that whereas skin care product sales spike in Q1 and in August and September, body care products spike in Q4.
Known for its goat milk-based products, Beekman 1802’s holiday sales — from Nov. 1 through Dec. 31 — grew 22% year over year in 2023. For the entire fourth quarter, they grew 25% year over year.
“We had a very strong holiday season,” she said. “It was about understanding and being agile with the timing in terms of Black Friday, Cyber Monday.”
Black Friday marked Beekman 1802’s largest peak, Scalamandre said. She groups it with Cyber Monday — which “was big,” she said without revealing more — because both are part of the Cyber 5, or the five-day sales period starting on Thanksgiving. “The next peak was right before Christmas,” she added.
Building on 2023 ecommerce sales successes
Scalamandre said Beekman 1802 ecommerce sales grew 27% year over year in 2023. They grew 18% in 2022, she said.
And that growth starts with customer relationship management (CRM), she added.
“We do segmentation, and we personalize,” Scalamandre said. “We really understand the behavior and the patterns of our consumers. We’re careful. We know how to push the body care consumer and to get her to buy into skin care, and then the skin care consumer, how to get her to get a bigger share in body care. That’s been hugely successful for us.”
Beekman 1802 increased its number of new consumers 18% in 2023, she said, exceeding its goal of 15% growth. That helped drive sales of skin care products, whereas the retailer previously focused on selling body care products. And because the skin care prices are “a bit higher” than the body care’s, Beekman 1802’s average order value (AOV) has grown to about $80 from between $69 and $72, she added.
Beekman 1802 growth through Ulta
Scalamandre said Beekman 1802 is exclusive with Ulta for brick-and-mortar store sales.
“In terms of growth there, we are really honing their marketing tools,” Scalamandre said, citing that Ulta has more than 42 million members in its loyalty program.
Last year, Beekman 1802 sales through Ulta — which include those made in physical stores and through ecommerce — grew 62%, she added.
Sales at Ulta currently represent 25% of Beekman 1802’s business, according to Scalamandre. Ecommerce accounts for another 25%, and sales from television channels HSN and QVC comprise about 24%, she added.
“Then we have ‘other,’ which is Amazon and some independents,” Scalamandre said. “We have a really nice omnichannel business where none favors the other.”
Ulta Beauty is No. 46 in the Top 1000. The database features Digital Commerce 360’s rankings of the largest North American online retailers. Ulta is the fifth-largest Health & Beauty retailer in the Top 1000.
Do you rank in our database?
Submit your data and we’ll see where you fit in our next ranking update.
Sign up
Stay on top of the latest developments in the ecommerce industry. Sign up for a complimentary subscription to Digital Commerce 360 Retail News. Follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. Be the first to know when Digital Commerce 360 publishes news content.