Boots has launched a new professional hair care category online as it continues to grow its market share in premium beauty.
The UK health and beauty retailer has added 400 products from ten professional and salon hair care brands to boots.com.
These include Redken, L’Oréal Professionnel, Pureology, Ouai, Briogeo, Ful, Matrix, Color Wow, Drybar and Wella Professionals.
Hair care has become a thriving category for the retailer, with 35% of customers having purchased a hair care product from Boots in the past six months.
The move will also help the beauty giant further increase its market share growth in premium beauty, with item revenues in this space having shot up by 20% during Q4.
“We continue to innovate and transform our beauty offering at Boots,” said Jenna Ward, Head of Beauty Reinvention at Boots.
“And with more than 250,000 searches for premium hair care brands on boots.com in the past 18 months, we knew this is what our customers wanted to see from us next.
“The launch of ten new premium and professional hair care brands means we are making the most in-demand products even more accessible.”
The category launch has been complemented with an online hair care hub, which offers expert hair care education and advice for customers.
Boots said some of these premium hair care brands will also be rolled out in stores over the coming months.
In-store hair care specialists will be introduced in stores later this year too, offering personalised expertise and impartial product advice to customers.
As part of the move into premium beauty, the retailer also has teamed up with hairdressers Live True London to launch a salon-led retail space in its London Vauxhall store.
The space combines a retail area and hair salon so customers can trial products in an experiential way.
It is operated by Live True’s team and offers cut, colouring and styling treatments.
Boots Advantage Card holders will receive a 20% discount on services and products at the salon until 20 November.
“Boots is uniquely placed to drive accessibility and availability of the most in-demand haircare products and advice, while also boosting recognition of the important role salon professionals play,” said Ward.
Boots is undergoing some big structural changes this year, with beauty at the heart of the project.
The retailer is opening its first-ever beauty-only store in December at London shopping destination Battersea Power Station.
The “beauty playground” will offer brand exclusives and services and is part of Boots ongoing beauty reinvention programme.
The retail giant has made its debut into the thriving cosmeceuticals space too with the launch of its No7 Derm Solutions range.
However, plans to launch its marketplace, which was initially teased in 2022, have been postponed.
Boots is also reducing its branch numbers in the UK over the next 12 months as part of a wider plan to “consolidate” the business.
The vast majority of closing stores are said to be within 5km of another Boots branch.
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