UK prestige beauty market seeing high growth, says NPD

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Sep 4, 2017

The increase in global shoppers visiting the UK has given a boost to the prestige beauty market in the past six months, according to a new report.

The market has grown by £60 million to £1,013 million in the six months between January and June 2017, compared to a valuation of just £30 million in the same period last year, global information company NPD Group revealed on Monday.

This is a 6% increase in growth, largely driven by make-up and 'super premium' skincare.

“The growth we have seen in the UK prestige beauty market is impressive, given the uncertainty post-Brexit. We believe that an increase in global shoppers is a large contributing factor to this growth. Visitor numbers to the UK continue to grow, in part due to the weak pound, making the UK a more attractive place to shop,” says June Jensen, Director of NPD UK Beauty.

MAKE-UP AND SKINCARE

Make-up is a key driver of growth, accounting for 36% of the total prestige beauty market, just behind fragrance and ahead of skincare. During the six-month period, it contributed 48% of growth in the market, eclipsing fragrance at 29% and skincare at 23%. While new product launches drive the increase in sales of make-up, existing products represent the greatest growth in fragrance and skincare.

The super premium skincare segment is also growing very fast. It accounts for just 7% of sales, but during the period it grew by 34% adding £5 million in sales to the market. Super premium skincare grew in London alone by 30%, increasing by £2.6 million in the six months. E-commerce was an important sales channel, with online sales of super premium skincare increasing by a stellar 102%. Fragrance reported booming sales in London too with an increase of 11%.

"London is considered the shopping capital of the UK and the increase in visitor numbers to the city, and the weak pound confirms our thoughts that the global shopper is boosting the prestige beauty market,” said June Jensen.