British prestige beauty sales have surged this year, as international shoppers capitalise on the weak pound.
According to findings by The NPD Group, from January to June, the category soared by £60m, double the growth in the same period in 2016.
“The growth we have seen in the UK prestige beauty market is impressive, given the uncertainty post-Brexit,” said June Jensen, Director, NPD UK Beauty.
“We believe that an increase in global shoppers is a large contributing factor to this growth. Visitor numbers to the UK continue to grow, in part due to the weak pound, making the UK a more attractive place to shop.”
The total prestige UK market is now worth £1.01bn, a figure driven primarily by make-up and super premium skin care.
A prosperous celebration
In just six months make-up sales have contributed 48% of the growth, surpassing fragrance (29%) and skin care (23%).
New make-up product launches are said to be driving the category.
A number of beauty brands tapped into Chinese New Year in the UK this year, fuelled by the drop in value of the pound after the UK's vote to leave the European Union.
Estée Lauder Companies opened a pop-up beauty gifting shop to drive sales for the holiday, while Guerlain released its limited edition Chinese New Year Rouge G de Guerlain Lipcolor.
Armani Beauty issued a limited edition compact to celebrate the year of the rooster, MAC repackaged some of its classic lipsticks and YSL Beauty released a special edition palette featuring red tassels to pay homage to the Chinese art of knotting.
Iconic British department store Selfridges also created a number of in-store events to boost holiday sales.
“London is considered the shopping capital of the UK and the increase in visitor numbers to the city, and the weak pound confirms our thoughts that the global shopper is boosting the prestige beauty market,” added Jensen.
Skin care success
Despite representing just 7% of the prestige market, super premium skin care helped the category grow by 34% – adding £5m in sales.
Overall super premium skin care has steadily grown by 53% in the past four years. But in 2017, online sales of super premium skin care rocketed by 102% and in London sales grew by 30% to £2.6m.
