How to Drive Beauty 
& Personal Care eCommerce in Europe

Benchmarks & Insights for Multichannel Beauty & Personal Care Brands

 

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How to Drive Beauty & Personal Care eCommerce in Europe

 

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eCommerce for Beauty and Personal Care is rapidly growing in Europe; understanding the trends is vital

Beauty and Personal Care rank today among Europe's most popular eCommerce categories. Online sales in these sectors are projected to grow by 10 percent in 2024, with further expansion expected through 2025.

 

In response to rising living costs, shoppers are adopting more strategic purchasing behaviors. Consumers are now balancing premiumization with affordability, focusing on ingredient quality, and seeking discounts, rewards, and "dupes"; affordable alternatives to high-end products. This trend is particularly strong among Gen Z shoppers.

 

So, how can your brand tap into the growing Beauty and Personal Care eCommerce market in Europe? In this guide, discover MikMak’s latest benchmarks and insights from the top five European markets: the UK, France, Germany, Spain, and Italy. Uncover best practices that will help your brand grow, with an omnichannel approach, commerce-first.

 

Note: While distinguishing between Beauty and Personal Care products can be challenging, especially with cosmetics, there are notable differences in shopping behavior. In our report, Beauty refers to fragrance, makeup, and beauty care cosmetics, while Personal Care includes dermocosmetics, hygiene, haircare, and wellness products like supplements.

 

Top 5 European Markets for Beauty & Personal Care By retail sales, € billion (Cosmetics Europe, 2023)

Channel Performance Insights

 

Today’s Beauty and Personal Care shoppers use multiple channels throughout their buying journey. To capture and maintain their attention, brands must engage with consumers in diverse ways across various platforms.


MikMak measures in-market shopper traffic to retailers with a metric called Purchase Intent Clicks*. It indicates the number of times shoppers click on retailer checkout options on multichannel brands’ marketing content. 

Search and social media drive the most Beauty & Personal Care shopper traffic

 

Based on the share of Purchase Intent Clicks, organic and paid search is currently the leading eCommerce traffic acquisition source for Beauty and Personal Care brands in Europe, followed by social media.

 

MikMak Beauty & Personal Care eCommerce Traffic Sources by Share of Purchase Intent Clicks

We anticipate significant growth in shoppable media advertising for Beauty and Personal Care brands across Europe in the coming years, driven by increasing digital ad spend and the rising need for brands to optimize marketing profitability. This shift could lead to changes in shopper traffic acquisition.

 

*Purchase Intent Clicks:
The number of times a shopper has clicked through to at least one retailer during a single session.

 

Best Practices

Make your products discoverable
& accelerate sales

 

Successful multichannel brand marketers make it fast and easy for consumers to discover and purchase their products from their preferred retailers, on any digital touchpoint.

 

MikMak Commerce provides premium consumer shopping experiences that create a seamless path to checkout at any retailer, from anywhere across your entire media mix, including social media, retail media, programmatic, paid search, CTV, video, email, and brand websites.

 

Topicrem makes it convenient for consumers to purchase their dermo-cosmetics by seamlessly connecting social media campaigns to shopping with Shoppable Media

 

Here are three best practices that led to their success:

Topicrem EXP
  1. Immediate Product Value: Showcase the product benefits clearly and right away.
  2. Strong Call to Action: “Shop Now” grabs attention and drives clicks.
  3. Flexible Checkout Options: Let customers choose their preferred retailer for a smooth checkout experience.

SEE CAMPAIGN

Retailer Landscape

 

To drive sales, multichannel brands must empower consumers to discover their products and check out at their preferred retailers.

 

Specialized retailers hold the first position for Beauty shoppers

 

When comparing this year’s ranking of the top five retailers by share of Purchase Intent Clicks to the results we observed in our report last year, we notice that:

 

united-kingdom

 

The Health and Beauty retailer Boots remains the top choice for UK shoppers, capturing 36 percent of Purchase Intent Clicks. Amazon has dropped from second to fourth place this year, following The Perfume Shop and The Fragrance Shop, just ahead of John Lewis.

 
france

 

In France, Nocibé has surged to first place with a 31.4 percent share of Purchase Intent Clicks, closely followed by Amazon at 30.1 percent. While Amazon lost its top position to Nocibé, its share of Beauty shopper traffic actually increased by 9 percentage points. CDiscount, Sephora, and Intermarché round out the top five retailers, with similar shares.

 
germany

 

Douglas continues to lead in Germany with nearly a third of all Purchase Intent Clicks. Flaconi is holding the second position with a 17.3 percent share. Notably, the Beauty and cosmetics retailer Notino and the department store KaDeWe have entered the top five this year.

 
spain

 

In Spain, Druni has risen to first place this year, capturing 16.5 percent of Purchase Intent Clicks, followed closely by El Corte Inglés at 16.3 percent and Douglas at 12.4 percent, which is increasing its share in the country. Arenal enters the top five this year in fourth place with a 4.2 percent share, just ahead of Sephora.

 
italy

 

In Italy, Douglas again takes the lead with a 23.1 percent share of Purchase Intent Clicks, followed by Sephora at 18 percent and Pinalli at 14.5 percent. Notino joins the top five in fourth place with a 6.5 percent share, while Amoretti Profumi completes the list with 6.3 percent.

 

 

MikMak Top 5 Retailers by Share of Purchase Intent Clicks, Beauty

For Personal Care purchases, specialized retailers compete with Amazon

 

Compared to last year’s top 5 retailer ranking in Personal care:

 

 
united-kingdom

 

In the UK, Boots leads with a commanding 60 percent share of Purchase Intent Clicks. Amazon retains second place, but its share has decreased from 21.2 percent to 12.6 percent compared to last year. Tesco follows with 11.7 percent, Superdrug with 11.4 percent, and Ocado rounds out the top five with 1.6 percent.

 
france

 

In France, generalist retailers dominate, with Amazon maintaining the top position at 23.7 percent of Purchase Intent Clicks. Intermarché holds second place with 11 percent, while Nocibé has dropped to third with a 9.8 percent share. Cocooncenter and Atida are tied for fourth and fifth with 4.5 percent and 4.4 percent, respectively.

 
germany

 

In Germany, the specialized Personal and Health Care retailer dm takes the lead this year with 29.1 percent of Purchase Intent Clicks, followed closely by drugstore chain Rossmann at 23.8 percent. Douglas and Flaconi secure third and fourth positions with 17.1 percent and 10.7 percent, respectively. Amazon falls from third to fifth place this year.

 
spain

 

In Spain, Amazon remains the leader, with 24.8 percent share of Purchase Intent Clicks. Druni (17 percent) and Primor (11.3 percent) are competing closely with Amazon. Fourth and fifth places go to Atida and Carrefour.

 
italy

 

In Italy, Amazon is increasing its share of shopper traffic this year, holding a 56.1 percent share of Purchase Intent Clicks. The parapharmacy retailer Farmaè has made a notable impact with 19.3 percent of clicks, followed by dm, eFarma, and Douglas.

 

 

MikMak Top 5 Retailers by Share of Purchase Intent Clicks, Personal Care

Best Practices

Strengthen retailer relationships

 

Drive business impact and accelerate your eCommerce growth by gaining visibility into your consumers’ shopping journey, all the way through purchases at select retailers. 

 

Consider using tools like MikMak Custom Retailer Allocation to achieve this. Additionally, you can enable the MikMak Store Locator feature, so shoppers can see when your products are in-stock based on their geographic location.

 

MikMak provides proprietary, retailer-specific consumer insights that you can use in joint planning discussions with your retailer partners, to unlock shelf space and media value.

 

Biocodex MikMak Case Study

 

Seasonal Dynamics & Key Dates

Purchase Intent Clicks for Beauty & Personal Care brands peak at year-end

 

The end of the year is a peak season for Beauty and Personal Care eCommerce in Europe. 


The shopper traffic to retailers reached its highest point in November for Personal Care across the five key countries. December was the busiest month for Beauty.

 

MikMak Share of Purchase Intent Clicks by Month

Spring is another high shopping season for Beauty & Personal Care

 

In the UK, November and December were particularly dominant for in-market shopper traffic for Beauty and Personal Care, whereas in the other four countries, springtime comes close to matching the year-end season.

 

The highest peaks typically align with special occasion shopping, such as holiday gifting, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, and Father’s Day, as well as major promotional events like Amazon Prime Day and Black Friday, with shopper traffic increasing significantly two to three weeks before these occasions.

 

MikMak Share of Purchase Intent Clicks by Country

September and December scored the highest Purchase Intent Rates on media

 

Across media channels, including social media, display, and video advertising, September's Back-to-School campaigns saw the highest share of shoppers likely to convert at retailers, with an impressive 24 percent Purchase Intent Rate across the five key European countries. December ranked second, particularly significant for Beauty brands.

 

Despite the ongoing impact of inflation on consumer spending, we are seeing encouraging signs for the Beauty and Personal Care sectors in the coming months. With the holiday season approaching, there will be numerous opportunities for brands to engage with consumers and drive conversions.

 

MikMak Average Purchase Intent Rate by Month on Media

Weekends boost shopper traffic for Beauty brands

 

Weekends are the prime time to engage with Beauty shoppers, with Saturday and Sunday driving the highest traffic to retailers for Beauty brands. In contrast, for Personal Care, midweek, particularly from Wednesday to Friday, tends to generate the most shopper activity.

 

In the UK, Wednesday and Saturday stand out as peak days, while in France, Sunday and Monday see the most activity. German shoppers are most active on Friday and Sunday, while in Spain, Wednesday and Thursday dominate. For Italian shoppers, any day from Wednesday to Sunday performs well.

 

MikMak Share of Purchase Intent Clicks by Day of the Week

MikMak Share of Purchase Intent Clicks by Day of the Week

 

Best Practices

Use first-party data to improve your marketing effectiveness

 

To effectively grow market share, it's crucial to understand, compare, and optimize your performance across brands within your category by channel, retailer, and other key metrics. Tracking how your performance evolves over time is equally important.

 

Collect and leverage first-party data by using platforms like MikMak to enhance your media targeting based on shoppers’ interests, retailer preferences, and channel behavior. 

 

MikMak Insights offers a comprehensive view of your performance, delivering actionable insights to optimize marketing effectiveness and boost profitability.

 

MikMak Bioderma Case Study

 

BRAVE COMMERCE logo

LISTEN HERE

Beiersdorf's Axel Adida on Global Commerce Shifts

 

“Data-driven marketing is a major shift. All the algorithms for content are everywhere, and all the algorithms for influencers or advertising are everywhere. So, there's no marketing without data at the core of it.”

 

Product Popularity

Fragrances drive the most traffic and the highest Purchase Intent Rate in Beauty

 

This year, fragrances are the standout products driving European Beauty shoppers from branded media to retailers, topping the charts in both Purchase Intent Clicks and Purchase Intent Rate. Concealers and foundations also rank highly in these metrics. Interestingly, makeup advent calendars have made their way into the Top 10 rankings. These Beauty advent calendars have surged in popularity in recent years, and the trend shows no signs of slowing down.

 

MikMak Top 10 Products - Beauty

Cleansing gels receive the most Purchase Intent Clicks among Personal Care products

 

Currently, cleansing gels lead in Purchase Intent Clicks, driving significant in-market shopper traffic. Special skin and hair treatment products also rank highly on the list. Items such as anti-dark spot hand cream and anti-pigment serum not only attract attention but also boast a high Purchase Intent Rate, suggesting a strong likelihood of being added to shopping carts after exposure to branded media.

 

MikMak Top 10 Products - Personal Care

 

Best Practices

Save time and money

 

Do you know where is best to invest your next marketing dollar? First, it’s important to understand the channels, campaigns, creative, and audiences that actually convert.
With consistent, real-time reporting and easy access to consumer, retailer, and platform insights, brands’ internal teams and agencies can save a ton of time and money.


A global platform like MikMak, complete with full-service and self-service tools, automatically enables consistent reporting and fast decision-making across the entire organization. Our platform empowers you to build, design, and customize eCommerce websites and media experiences, all backed by MikMak’s best-in-class global retail network, inventory data, and sales attribution.

 

“It’s understanding what tools are out there to be able to get insights around intentionality. So tools like MikMak, where you can look at add to cart numbers, and percentages, and breakouts between retailers. So it’s understanding that you’re not going to have that DTC luxury of all the transactions. But being comfortable putting together different pieces of data that tell the story. Combined with what’s happening in social and other places where consumers are having dialogue and creating content in order to build what you want for next week, next month, and the next quarter.”


Kevin Shapiro, Senior Vice President, US Marketing - Consumer Beauty

Coty_logo.svg

 

Checklist to increase your Beauty and Personal Care marketing effectiveness and profitability

  • Simplify checkout to drive sales: Is your brand utilizing its media campaigns and brand website effectively to drive and measure retailer sales? Using MikMak Commerce with multi-retailer checkout options allows you to increase your chances of conversion.
  • Leverage real-time transactional insights: How and where do your audiences convert? Identify with MikMak Insights which channels, campaigns, and retailers are part of your consumers’ shopping journey to place your media investments at the right time and in the right places. 
  • Optimize your content and be agile with your data: Tailor your creative to be relevant to the specific audience segment targeted in your campaign. Keep your creative and marketing outreach focused on consumer behavior, and use insights to adjust your strategy quickly to save time and money.
  • Explore growth opportunities: Check your performance against category (and subcategory!) benchmarks to see how you stack up against the competition. A/B test new creative formats like shoppable QR codes and CTV  to see if purchase intent increases.

 

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LISTEN HERE

Colgate’s Dana Medema on building trust among your consumers and your own internal teams

 

"For those companies that really understand their consumer and what service or product they are going to provide, they are going to win the battle."

 

LISTEN HERE

Esi Eggleston Bracey of Unilever on approaching business from a human-centric perspective

 

"You create business when you find what people need and you create solutions to people’s problems."

 

All data and insights from this guide are sourced from the MikMak Shopping Index

The MikMak Shopping Index was developed to provide a standardized set of metrics, methodology, and benchmarks to help drive brands’ business results and strategy. It is a collection of key eCommerce KPIs collected across hundreds of brands, over 250 channels, and more than 7,000+ retailer integrations to understand consumer online shopping behavior.

 

All data in this report is from 1 September 2023 to 1 September 2024.

 

We're here to help. MikMak helps multichannel brands gain deeper consumer insights to grow and protect market share. 

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Download the PDF

How to Drive Beauty & Personal Care eCommerce in Europe

 

Be sure to bookmark this PDF so you can access the link whenever you need it:

 

DOWNLOAD NOW

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