The month of November is of outsized importance in the global retail calendar. Not only does it unofficially kick off the holiday shopping season, but it boasts the two most important annual shopping events in the world: Double 11 (Singles’ Day) in China and the Black Friday-Cyber Monday period in the US. Now, thanks to Euromonitor International's new Passport: E-Commerce system, it is possible to provide a comprehensive overview of the online sales of over 500 fast-moving consumer goods (fmcg) categories during the all-important November frame. Today, Euromonitor looks at the November 2023 performance of one of the most important product categories for holiday shopping in both China and the US: beauty and personal care (BPC).
The online sales performance of colour cosmetics diverges in China and the US
In 2023, US consumers are increasingly concerned about the state of the economy. While the rate of inflation has declined from the dizzying heights of 2022, it remains high by recent historical standards, and consumers are continuing to ration their spending by cutting back on discretionary purchases. This bodes ill for the holiday shopping season. Despite the headwinds, some BPC categories in the US are performing better than others. Oral care’s value share of overall BPC e-commerce sales in November 2023 increased by almost 1.5 percentage points over the prior year, coming in at 7% of total online BPC sales. On the other hand, colour cosmetics’ share dropped by about the same amount, decreasing to 19% of BPC e-commerce sales for the month.
Meanwhile, in China, the Double 11 shopping festival maintains its critical status as a barometer for the overall health of China's consumer economy. The sheer magnitude of sales generated during this festival remains unparalleled. Notably, in 2022, the month of November alone accounted for more than 16% of the annual sales of the 12 fmcg industries tracked by Euromonitor’s Passport: E-Commerce system.
In the dynamic landscape of China's BPC market, specifically, two notable trends emerged in November 2023. For one, the value share of skin care out of overall BPC e-commerce sales witnessed a substantial decline, dropping by 5.3 percentage points compared to the prior year. By contrast, colour cosmetics emerged as a clear winner: the value share of colour cosmetics surged by nearly 3.6 percentage points. This uptick underscores a heightened interest in and demand for colour cosmetics, signalling a potential surge in the popularity of make-up products.
Average prices of baby and child-specific products and oral care surge in both China and the US
Across BPC e-commerce in the US, the impact of inflation was most evident in baby and child-specific products, with average prices increasing by 13% in November 2023 over the same period the year before
Source: Euromonitor International
However, it is clear that, in some other categories, brands and retailers are engaging in heavy discounting in a bid to lure shoppers. For example, the average prices of fragrances products purchased online in the month of November actually decreased by 4% compared to the year before.
In China, average prices across oral care surged by 24% in November 2023 compared to the same period in 2022
Source: Euromonitor International
A closer examination reveals that this uptick can be largely attributed to the growing popularity of power toothbrushes among Chinese consumers. Conversely, the average price of skin care products witnessed a notable decrease, dropping by 12%. This downward trend can be attributed to the decrease in the average price of moisturisers and treatments, which combine to account for nearly 50% of total skin care sales. This observed "trade-down" phenomenon in skin care suggests a shift in consumer behaviour, as Chinese shoppers anxious about the economy look towards more affordable options within the category.
Douyin and Amazon stand out as the most interesting retailers in BPC e-commerce in China and the US
In terms of online retailers, the big winner in the US in November 2023 was Amazon. Its share of BPC e-commerce sales effectively doubled to 14%, up from 7% in November 2022. Amazon’s impressive holiday performance speaks to one of its great strengths; when sending gifts to friends and family, US consumers learned in 2021, at the height of the global supply chain crisis, that they can trust Amazon to get their parcels delivered on time, when other retailers cannot. In 2023, it is clear that this lesson has not been forgotten.
In China, it is Douyin that stands out as the fastest growing retailer in BPC e-commerce. Douyin, which serves as the Chinese analogue to TikTok, only introduced retail e-commerce capabilities to its platform in July 2021. Since then, however, it has made significant gains on Tmall and JD.com, the traditional titans of online retail in China. Notably, Douyin’s focus on short-form video content allows merchants operating on the platform to easily match a Douyin user’s video preferences with their own product assortments. This means that, rather than the typical search-and-click experience, Douyin relies on inspiration to trigger purchases, often driven by influencers. This model has proven extremely popular; representatives of Kanebo, a beauty brand owned by Japan-based KAO, recently described Douyin as the “best platform” to raise brand awareness.
L’Oréal Groupe stands as the sales leader in BPC e-commerce in both China and the US
In November 2023, the market leader in US BPC e-commerce remained L'Oréal Groupe, the France-based beauty giant, which commanded 12% of all online BPC sales in the country over the course of the month. L'Oréal also stood out as the leading company in Chinese BPC e-commerce, with a 16% value share of digital BPC sales in the country.
