The beauty industry, like most industries today, is in the throes of a great transformation. The shuttering of storefronts during quarantine accelerated a shift towards online beauty products sales that was already well-established.

Now, despite the rebound in beauty demand brought by the easing of lockdowns, e-commerce continues to overtake in-person sales and is projected to make up 48% of all beauty product sales by 2023 as brick-and-mortar’s grip on the industry weakens.

Big vs. Small: Who Is winning the battle? 

So, as the fight for control of the beauty market moves online, who is winning the battle for the largest online market share?
 
Spoiler alert: It’s not the traditional brands you would think of, like Sephora and Ulta Beauty.
 
Instead, smaller, direct-to-consumer brands and publishers like Allure and Byrdie (a company that doesn’t even sell beauty products) are overtaking online market share that was once dominated by the mega brands and retailers. In fact, a recent SEO report showed that these publishers now own the majority of Google organic search market share.

What are the reasons for this significant shift?

Consumers are yearning for highly personal and relevant content. Shoppers are weary of the traditional, promotional content associated with most legacy brands that merely sell a product, and are seeking personalized insights that help them find solutions to their unique beauty needs.

This appetite, which had already been spreading, was accelerated by the pandemic as consumers missed the pre-pandemic experience of sampling products in-store and relying on in-store associates and customer service representatives to offer product suggestions and recommendations.

Relevant content is key

Publishers such as Byrdie have been the ones to step up and meet this growing demand by offering highly-personalized content that allows users to learn about products and find out which ones fit them best.

Google’s algorithm has picked up on this shift in consumer demand and has pivoted to favor informational content over both product-related content and transactional websites in search engine results pages.
 
Some examples of the type of informational online beauty content that consumers find most relevant include skin tone matching makeup filters (found on Instagram and Pinterest), visual beauty product guides, tips, tutorials, how-to videos and long-form Q&As that build a connection between them and the product/brand.

Organic content marketing is essential 

No longer is beauty marketing about creating interactive in-store experiences or flashy ads inside of shopping malls.

Now the industry’s business imperative is to replicate that in-store experience online through smart, user-focused content and digital experiences.

This type of organic content marketing will be especially essential in a cookie-less future as the only brands who will build lasting consumer relationships will be those who can offer engaging content that fully understands and seeks to address their needs.
 
Right now, it’s publishers and direct-to-consumer brands who are doing this and thus winning the online market share war.

If the legacy beauty brands don’t take a page from their playbook, their legacy will become history.
  

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Supriya Venkatesan serves as Senior Director of Content at Terakeet, where she provides strategic leadership and operational management for the Terakeet content team, supports cross-discipline integration and drives team development.