One of every five beauty purchases online is made via the Amazon marketplace, according to a new report.

Amazon.com Inc.’s marketplace is responsible for 21.1% of online beauty sales in 2016, the largest of any other online retailer, according to a new report by 1010data.

When looking at Amazon.com sales excluding those from its marketplace sellers, the online retail giant, (No. 1 in the Internet Retailer 2016 Top 500 Guide) was the fourth largest seller of online beauty sales in 2016 with 14.4% of online beauty sales, behind the Amazon marketplace, Macy’s Inc. (No. 6 in the Top 500) at 17.4% of online beauty sales and Sephora USA Inc. (No. 129) at 15.0%, 1010data finds.  Make-Up Art Cosmetics (MAC) received 3.5% of online sales in the category and Clinique grabbed 1.5%. Both makeup and cosmetics retailers are part of Estee Lauder Cos. (No. 56).

“Even though brand websites such as MAC and Clinique are still popular, there’s no denying the power of a marketplace that often has lower price points for your favorite products,” says Jed Alpert, senior vice president of marketing at 1010 data. The data management platform gathered consumer spending data representing millions of consumers from January-December 2016 and reviewed more than 1,000 cosmetic brands for the report.

Overall, the online beauty category grew 14% from 2015 to 2016, according to 1010data. In 2015, Internet Retailer estimates the health and beauty category grew 15.61% year over year and the average company grew 24.72%, according to Top 500 Guide.com data. 54 retailers in Internet Retailer’s Top 1,000 are in the health and beauty category.

Cosmetics retailer Anastasia Beverly Hills had the largest year-over-year growth at 146.6% and Victoria’s Secret, which sells fragrances, had the second highest at 119.8%, according to the 1010data report. The vendor attributes Anastasia’s trip-digit growth to its social media strategy, specifically its network of Instagram influencers that promote its brand.

advertisement

The report also found that Burt’s Bees Inc. (No. 786) has the highest conversion rate (5.6%) among the beauty brands it looked at, meaning that the retailer is the most successful at turning product views on its site into buys, 1010data says.

“Brands with high conversion rates are successfully promoting and pricing their products,” Alpert says.

By category, 40% of online beauty sales are fragrances, the most of any category, according to the report. Face products are next at 29%, then eye (15%), lip (12%) and nail (4%).

 

advertisement
Favorite