The world of retail is constantly shifting, often too fast to keep track of. Beauty News reached out to three clean beauty retailers; Shen Beauty, The Detox Market, and Credo Beauty to find out what type of products are performing well in sales, merchandising plans, and so much more.  

Welcome Back, Color Cosmetics

While sales of color cosmetics took a hit over the past two years, consumers are back to stocking up their makeup bags. According to NielsenIQ, cosmetic sales have spiked more than 16 percent over the past 52 weeks.

The Detox Market Founder and CEO Romain Gaillard said the items that were performing best included colored makeup products from brands like Living Libations or 19/99. “Makeup continues to sell really well. They [consumers] are eager to play, experiment, and update their everyday makeup look.”

At Credo Beauty, one of the best performing items is its private label brand, Exa. The retailer’s homepage guides consumers to a section titled “Big Color Mood” and features a wide array of clean color-cosmetics.

Michelle Connelly, Credo Beauty’s Vice President of Merchandising & Planning, said, “Our private label brand Exa, which is now two years old, is experiencing awesome growth, fueled by Color Correctors that launched earlier this year (a pink shade went viral and sold out) and our new shade matching tool, Hue, that was recently launched.”

Updating the Consumer Shopping Experience

Beauty retailers are shifting the way they organize merchandise across digital and physical storefronts. Some retailers are taking the approach of adding editorial content to their site to help consumers better understand products, while others are beginning to blur the lines that have traditionally separated beauty categories such as skin care and hair care from one another.

Jessica Richards, founder and owner of Shen Beauty, commented, “We just launched a brand-new website this spring after 14 months in development and we are continuing to launch new and exciting ways to shop on the site. Mostly focused on education as a resource for men and women who want to truly understand each product.”

The Detox Market also updated its website. “We migrated our blog over to our e-commerce site to allow our customers to explore and find an easier path to purchase. Our blog posts will follow seasonal trends, hot topics, and the most current content from our team of experts to help educate the community on the things that matter to them. With the blog and tips and tricks sprinkled throughout, our e-commerce site is the ultimate clean beauty destination,” said Romain.

On Credo Beauty’s recent approach to merchandising, Michelle said, “We are seeing more and more blurring between what we had considered the traditional categories of skin care, color, fragrance, hair, and body. Many of our brands are successfully playing in multiple categories or launching products that cross between two categories. So, our biggest shift in merchandising is a new mindset around how to display these brands and products in-store without limiting ourselves to our traditional category merchandising, while still making it as easy as possible for customers to navigate easily and find what they are looking for.”

IRL Events to Drive Community, Engagement

In the same way sales of color cosmetics has resurged, beauty retailers have returned to hosting in-person events, ranging from master classes in makeup and skin care techniques to themed parties.

Romain from the Detox Market commented, “We are launching makeup services in all locations this fall, including makeup lessons. We are finding more of our clients are excited to play with color and want to sit down with an expert one-on-one to learn new techniques or find clean swaps for their beauty staples.”

Shen Beauty’s Jessica said, “This fall we are doing a master class with Doctor Ourian from MDO Skin and we are also looking to do some master classes with current brand partners.

While Credo Beauty’s Michelle mentioned, “In addition to fun local activations throughout the Holiday season with our top brands focused on gifting, winter skin care, and holiday makeup, we’ll be throwing our annual all-store holiday parties on Saturday, December 10, with free services, drinks, and a special gift.”