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The Beauty & Skincare categories have certainly seen their share of ups and downs during the COVID pandemic. Initially, lockdowns and work-from-home mandates put a dent in the Beauty — specifically, Cosmetics — category. Since people were no longer “out in the public eye,” makeup use plummeted. Yet other products, such as skincare and haircare, got a boost. During COVID, consumers were suddenly put in charge of their own health and self care routines. And they turned online — to Amazon and other retailer websites, as well as social media — to not only buy products, but gather information on beauty and self care routines.
The shift from in-store to online shopping during the pandemic is well documented. But with the resurgence of in-store shopping the past year or so, there is evidence that shopping online for Beauty & Skincare may have some staying power. About half of consumers (49%) say they’re buying more beauty products online than they did prior to the pandemic, according to an April 2022 PowerReviews survey of 11,000+ U.S. consumers. PowerReviews research also suggests an uptick in the Skincare category, with nearly two-thirds (63%) of consumers saying they’re focusing more on skincare than they did pre-COVID.
So, using Profitero’s digital shelf data, we did a deeper dive into the Skincare category online, highlighting three key trends below.
1. The ‘hyaluronic acid’ hack for healthy skin
Working “hyaluronic acid” into beauty & skincare (even haircare) routines became a viral sensation among beauty enthusiasts and “skinfluencers” on TikTok late last year and into 2022. Turns out hyaluronic acid is a common skincare ingredient known for its hydrating properties, which helps preserve the skin’s moisture and firmness. Smart skincare brands jumped all over this trending keyword and started using it in their product titles.
‘Hyaluronic acid’ becomes a viral sensation on TikTok
During a recent 30-day period from May 14 - June 13, 2022, 21% of products on Page 1 of Amazon included the term “hyaluronic acid” in their product title, compared with 14% a year ago. What’s more, brands are extending the term usually reserved for skincare products to additional products as well, such as foundation. During the May 14 - June 13, 2022 time period, 5% of products appearing on Page 1 of Amazon search results for “foundation” included the term “hyaluronic acid” in their product titles, up from 1% in 2021. A similar uptick in the use of the term “hyaluronic acid” was found on Walmart’s website.
% of products on Page 1 of search results using the term ‘hyaluronic acid’ in the product title
Source: Profitero; Time period analyzed: May 14 - Jun 13 2022 vs. 2021
Foundation products on Amazon using ‘hyaluronic acid’ in their title
As summer heats up and the pandemic subsides, it’s no surprise that searches for “sunscreen” are trending on Amazon. Profitero found searches for “sunscreen” during the first week of June 2022 were up 77% from 2021 levels, and a whopping 188% higher than the same period in 2020 (at the height of lockdown).
The story, however, seems to be more than just about a return to normal. Searches for “sunscreen” on Amazon in 2022 are also outpacing pre-pandemic 2019 levels by 126%. This perhaps suggests the stickiness of Amazon for common routine skincare purchases, such as sunscreen. Amazon’s also likely gaining sunscreen sales at the expense of other competitors.
Search Rank Index — Keyword ‘sunscreen’ on Amazon U.S.
(Base year index of 100 in 2019)
Source: Profitero; Time period: First week of June in each of the years shown
Below is a look at the top 5 brands ranked by share of Page 1 on Amazon.com and Walmart.com from May 10 - June 10, 2022 compared with the same time period in 2021.
Top 5 brands — Share of Page 1 (%) on Amazon.com
Source: Profitero; Notes: Includes both organic & sponsored search; Time period: May 10 - June 10, 2022 vs. May 10 - June 10, 2021
Top 5 brands — Share of Page 1 (%) on Walmart.com
Source: Profitero; Notes: Includes both organic & sponsored search; Time period: May 10 - June 10, 2022 vs. May 10 - June 10, 2021
A few notes of interest:
Walmart’s private label Equate has taken over as the leading brand on Page 1, with 29% share of Page 1 in 2022 versus 22% in 2021. Other brands gaining share of Page 1 include Banana Boat and Hawaiian Tropic, while Neutrogena and Coppertone’s share of Page 1 has dropped.
We are living through a perfect storm of cost pressures facing the industry. Cost inflation is hitting us from all sides — rising raw material costs, labor costs, oil / gasoline and transportation costs. It doesn’t appear to be slowing down any time soon either. But what’s hidden behind the Labor Department’s monthly-reported inflation numbers is just how hard inflation is hitting consumers when they shop online.
Every month, Profitero’s eCommerce Price Index tracks online prices for thousands of products sold on retailer eCommerce sites. Our latest data shows that as of May 2022, online prices for beauty products in the U.S. are up 6.3 ppts year-over-year.
Further complicating things, eCommerce is the most volatile and fast changing channel when it comes to price and cost management. As the chart below shows, eCommerce experiences extreme volatility in daily price movement. Something that would never happen in brick & mortar. This makes it all the more important to take a “hands on keyboard” approach to tracking online price data.
Example of daily price changes for a beauty product on Amazon.com (2021)
Source: keepa data, June 19 - Sept 9, 2021
With consumers shopping online for beauty & skincare products more than ever, it’s important that your products are discoverable and visible in retailer search results. In fact, our research shows that moving from Page 2 to Page 1 organically in search results can increase a brand’s sales by 50%, on average. Some tips:
For more eCommerce insights & reports:
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