With their perfectly groomed and liveried assistants being stood down during the Covid pandemic, it seemed the department store beauty hall may have had its day. But the high-street temples of pampering are making a comeback as Britons prioritise looking good.
This week, as part of a wider revamp of its Oxford Street store, John Lewis opened a new-look beauty hall that is almost 25% bigger and rammed with 175 brands.
Rival chain Fenwick recently trumpeted a transformation that created the “largest beauty hall outside London” in its Newcastle branch. Selfridges has also spent millions refurbishing the beauty floor in its main London store, on Oxford Street.
The big investments make sense in the context of new data that shows spending on designer cosmetics, haircare and fragrance is booming. Britons spent just shy of £4bn on this stuff in the 12 months to the end of September. This is £400m up – an increase of more than 10% – on 2023’s £3.6bn spend, according to data company Circana. The increase is not just in value terms, people are buying more products, it said.
“Consumers increasingly link a luxury beauty purchase as an essential part of their physical and emotional wellbeing and an affordable luxury treat,” said Circana UK’s account director, Emma Fishwick. It was noteworthy, she said, that the growth in sales and quantities sold is outpacing other areas of spending such as groceries, toiletries and healthcare.
With websites winning custom by offering deep discounts, about half of all designer beauty products are today sold online. However, for most brands it is the combination of the web and stores that is the key to sales success.
“A bricks and mortar presence provides an important window into the world of beauty that enables beauty buyers to try, smell and experiment with new products before they purchase,” said Fishwick. “We expect to see more brands and retailers recognising the importance of the in-store consumer experience.
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The pandemic was a punishing time for department stores and since 2020 about a quarter of the UK’s have shut their doors. Today there are about 800, down from 1,073 four years ago, according to Green Street, formerly the Local Data Company.
The failure of a major chain such as Debenhams, which had stores all over the country, was a big loss for the beauty industry. But with brands now enjoying overnight success if they go viral on TikTok, the retail survivors are having to run faster to keep up with consumers’ hunger for the next big thing.
The specialist beauty retailer Sephora, which has made a triumphant return to the UK, is a mighty new competitor, but it has also provided a new template for modern beauty halls with its buzzy self-service stores described as a “candy shop for adults”, even if the prices are just as high.
The influence of Sephora’s fun, more laid-back approach is apparent in the new-look John Lewis beauty hall, which is far less formal. It has more than 40 counters but they are no longer lined up along the walls. Helen Spencer, the head of beauty at John Lewis, said that “it is no longer about consultants standing behind the counter and serving somebody. This is about shoppers coming in and discovering … being hands-on and touching products.”