CEW Global Trends Report reveals data behind the advancing prestige cosmetics business in the US

by Deanna Utstroke, 02/08/16 17:28 GMT - Cosmeticsdesign-asia.com

The event, held at the Harmonie Club on New York City’s Upper East Side last week, reviewed beauty industry sales, trends, and more from 2015 and forecast 2016, using facts and figures from both Nielsen and NPD.

Reflecting on the overall retail climate and the unique position that cosmetics and personal care companies occupy, Unser [NPD] pointed to online sales as a real opportunity:

"I think you all [in the prestige beauty business] are in the early stages of the e-commerce piece."

"In the age when everything is available to consumers", with big online marketplaces like Amazon in the mix, Unser believes that "there is a real opportunity for you all to curate. Consumers need to have things recommended to them".

Karen Grant, VP and global beauty industry analyst for The NPD Group, explains that retail trends, shifting consumer expectations, and brand innovations are “blurring the lines between what is mass and what is prestige."

And she emphasizes that many long-held industry truths are evolving. For instance, “for the first time in 2015, the fragrance category outperformed skincare. Fragrance dollars grew by 4%, and skincare by 3%,” Grant reports. 

“Fragrance sales are dynamic in core components like juices, and the market for home ancillaries is growing.”

Beauty is moving very quickly, says Grant. “The trends in beauty are more diverse and moving faster than ever, as are the consumers.”

Grant also highlighted the prevalence of artist and alternative brands among notable makeup launches last year—Urban Decay’s Naked Smokey Eye Shadow and Anastasia Contour Cream Kit New Light, for example. 

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