Q2 2014 saw sales of US prestige beauty products up 5% from Q2 2013 to $2.5bn, according to the NPD Group.
This growth was demonstrated across each of the three primary categories (colour cosmetics, skin care and fragrance).
Base or facial make-up products were the growth drivers in colour cosmetics, accounting for nearly half of category sales and slightly outpacing category growth. Eye and lip products together accounted for nearly 46% of the category dollar sales, almost as much as facial make-up, and their combined growth was greater than their face counterparts. Nail was the only colour cosmetics segment that took a sales downturn in Q2 2014. The category's total sales were $1bn, up 78% on the comparable prior year period.
Onto skin care, and as with the make-up results, it was face products driving growth in the category, representing more than a third of the sales and setting the pace of the category performance (total sales were $844m, up 2%). Product sets and kits represented just 10% of skin care dollar sales, but their 4% growth outpaced the category.
Actual juices accounted for 65% of total prestige fragrance sales, ($632m, a 5% increase on Q2 2013) and they continued to drive the category with 7% dollar growth compared to Q2 2013. Fragrance ancillary sales (e.g. coordinating body lotions and shower gels) added to the prestige category growth with a 3% increase in dollar sales, though at just 6% of the market, it is still a subtle increase.
“Primary prestige segments continue to be market drivers, but the industry is realising the opportunities and revenue that lie among smaller, more specialised segments,” said Karen Grant, Vice President and Global Industry Analyst, The NPD Group. “With the current momentum as a platform, we expect the next two quarters to be positive, leading to annual performance a bit softer but in line with the low to mid-single-digit growth trend of 2013.”
