China Cosmetic Market Data in July

Overall data

After the excellent rebound of total retail sales in May and June, cosmetic consumption stabilized in July. The total retail sales of cosmetics was 23 billion yuan, with a YoY increase of 9.2% (20.5% increase in June) ^[1].

Table 1

As for unique visitors and views (table 1), the number of unique visitors of skincare and makeup segments both increased while views for these two segments remained steady.

Skincare segment

Table 2

With the 618 shopping festival in June generating massive amount of enthusiasm for shopping, as evident by the gigantic 935% increase in the growth rate for beauty services in June, the market entered the off-season, with almost every skincare segment witnessed a MoM decrease. Beauty services dropped by 80% and facial essence, facial care kit, sunscreen, and eye care all dropped by about 60%.

Table 3

As for the TOP20 skincare brands in July, more domestic brands entered the list. Besides the regulars, including Winona, HFP, and CHANDO, there were new faces like Little Dream Garden, PROYA, Mask Family, and UNIFON.

The rise of Mask Family and UNIFON is mainly attributed to the popularity of smearing masks (Facial masks different from cloth masks, i.e. gel masks, clay masks, and cream masks). Data from Tmall Global shows that smearing masks sales increased by over 400% from January to July ^[2], while the top products of Mask Family and UNIFON were smearing masks.

Table 4

Two smearing mask products from Mask Family entered the TOP10 Skincare Products List in July. FEIGUA Data shows that the number of Douyin visitors related to Mask Family reached 2.744 million, suggesting its growing popularity on social media.

It is also worth noting that many domestic products performed well in July, accounting for eight out of 10 positions. 

Makeup segment

Table 5

Similar to the skincare segment, the makeup segment also witnessed a drop in July. Makeup set decreased by 58.28%, and facial makeup declined by 30.18%.

Table 6

In the TOP20 Makeup Brands in July, Florasis ranked the first again, and it has held this position for four consecutive months. Perfect Diary, Little Ondine, CARSLAN, and COLORKEY also performed well in July, just like the previous month. ZEESEA, a domestic brand, and unny club, a Korean brand, were the newcomers in the ranking. 

Table 7

As for the TOP10 Makeup Products List, there are 2 things to note:

First, products from local brands dominated this list, which gives hints to their power to generate profit and their potential of growth within the makeup segment;

Second, the list in July was similar to the list in June, which implies that few new products challenged these products’ positions. Other brands may learn lessons from these successful brands about creating hot-red products like those featured in the list above.

In conclusion, after the consumption climax of the 618 shopping festival in June, the market witnessed a drop in July while domestic brands still showed their strength to generate profit as well as their future potential of growth.