COVID-19’s rapid spread throughout the U.S. and other countries earlier this year resulted in drastic changes in industries across the globe. One of the most affected industries was the beauty market, as many beauty stores and essential retailers had to close down due to safety precautions. The mass closure of stores caused an estimated 20-30% fall in beauty-industry revenue in 2020, and the fall could continue up to 35% by 2021 if COVID-19 cases surge again.
The beauty industry particularly suffers from store closures, as an estimated 85% of all beauty-related products are purchased at stores. Even younger generations, who are more inclined to use online services, purchase the vast majority of their products in-person, with Generation Z and Millennials purchasing 60% of their products in-store. An estimated 30% of the global beauty market has been closed since the pandemic began, and these numbers are likely to increase as local shops struggle to remain open permanently due to a loss in sales.
The services provided by beauty stores make many hesitant to shop at the few beauty stores that remain open.
“I think that beauty stores suffer a lot because you’re using products that come into contact with your face,” Poolesville High School junior Amrita Jilla said. “Your mouth, eyes and lips are the zones where the virus can spread easily and enter your system, so a lot of people are hesitant to buy beauty products.”
Despite these challenges, many are optimistic that the beauty industry will recover rapidly in the near future. The beauty industry is regarded as one of the most historically resilient industries, as it has been experiencing growth of around 4.5% annually for the past 15 years according to Euromonitor. In the 2008 Great Recession, the beauty industry was able to make a full recovery by 2010. Evidence of recovery from COVID-19 can be found in China, whose beauty industry experienced a rapid rebound in revenue after March when cases began declining.
Many beauty industries have also been quick to adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic and are focusing their efforts on online sales. Sephora and Amazon’s online sales for beauty products have increased by 30% since the pandemic started, and others are likely experiencing a similar trend. The majority of these online stores now allow customers to apply filters to see how certain products look like before making a purchase online.
However, from a short-term perspective, it is unlikely that online stores, no matter how advanced in their services, will replace the experience of going to beauty stores.
“Filters can only do so much,” Jilla said. “You don’t know what the texture of the product is like, you don’t know the consistency, you don’t know how it’ll feel or what it’ll do to your skin. It’s better to figure those things out by sampling and going to stores in-person.”
Another long-term impact of the pandemic is that while sales for traditional makeup products are falling, the Do-It-Yourself (DIY) and self-care product industries have been rising. Sales for nail care on Amazon have gone up by 218% over the past year, followed closely by hair coloring at 172%, while skincare is at a 20% increase. During the pandemic, consumers have increasingly been working to take care of their health and wellbeing through such DIY and self-care products.
While many aspects of the beauty industry have collapsed since the pandemic began due to the closure of stores, the industry is slowly on the path towards recovery. The companies’ rapid adaptation and innovation in response to these circumstances have been the driving force behind this recovery and establishes the beauty industry as one of the most prominent markets in the world today.
Article by Vismaya Paul Mohindra of Richard Montgomery High School
Photo by May Pham of Walt Whitman High School