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Trends in Tmall’s Top-Selling Skincare Products

ChemLinked collected data on the top 5 skincare products/brands on Tmall by monthly transaction numbers (Data as of April 20). Major trends in China’s cosmetics (skincare) market are products for sensitive skin, active ingredients based on evidence based efficacy and premium products delivered in novel formats (ampoules and essences).

Facial cleanser:

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No.Products/BrandsIngredient/EfficacyMonthly transactionsBrand origin
1Little Dream Garden Simple Facial Cleanser
Amino acid150,000China
2NIVEA ME OIL CONTROLOil control, anti-acne100,000Beiersdorf, Germany
3L' OREAL MEN EXPERT PURE & MATTEOil control, anti-acne100,000L' OREAL, France
4HANAJIRUSHI AMINO ACID FACE WASHING CREAMAmino acid98,000HANAJIRUSHI, Japan
5Freeplus Mild SoapAmino acid97,000Kanebo, Japan

One-sentence summary:

Amino acid facial cleanser is the most popular facial cleanser type, and men’s facial cleanser has become the most important part of men’s grooming.

Essence:

图片2.png

No.Products/BrandsIngredient/EfficacyMonthly transactionsBrand origin
1One Leaf Niacinamide Brightening Moisturizing Serum

Niacinamide

Brightening

160,000CHICMAX, China
2HomeFacialPro Lactobionic Acid Essence

Lactobionic Acid

Pore minimizing 

150,000China
3Dr. Yu Skin Barrier Recovery Kit (including essence)Skin repairing130,000Shanghai Jahwa, China
4HomeFacialPro Oligopeptide Essence

Oligopeptide

Acne marks fading

120,000China
5OLAY WHITE RADIANCE LIGHT-PERFECTING ESSENCE

Niacinamide

Brightening

80,000P & G, the United States

One-sentence summary:

Top-selling essence products use active ingredients such as Niacinamide, Lactobionic Acid, and Oligopeptide.

Eye cream:

图片3.png

No.Products/BrandsMonthly transactionsBrand origin
1LiLiA WRINKLR EYE CREAM90,000China
2YIGAR PLURALISTIC EYE ESSENCE CREAM44,000China
3Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Eye44,000Estee Lauder, the United States
4MARUBI MULTIPLE PEPTIDE ANTI-WRINKLES EYE CREAM36,000China
5A.H.C THE REAL EYE CREAM FOR FACE33,000CARVER KOREAA, South Korea

One sentence summary:

The price range of eye cream is wide ranging from 100 yuan to 500 yuan.

Facial cream:

图片4.png

No.Products/BrandsMonthly transactionsBrand origin
1DABAO SOD FACIAL CREAM130,000China
2WINONA Anti-Sensitive Moisturizing tolerance-extreme Cream76,000China
3SEROE ACNE MUSCLE REPAIR GEL60,000China
4acwell AQUA CLINTY CREAM53,000South Korea
5BIAOTING VITAMIN C EMULSION43,000China

One sentence summary:

Creams aimed at sensitive skin repair are becoming increasingly popular.

Toner:

图片5.png

No.Products/BrandsMonthly transactionsBrand origin
1BEOTUA VC HYDRATING MOISTURIZING TONER130,000China
2KANS HYDRA-REPLUMPING TONER76,000China
3Avene Thermal Spring Water60,000France
4Rellet HA Moisturizing Spray53,000China
5Opera Yiyiren Lotion43,000Japan

One sentence summary:

Moisturizing sprays are popular.

Facial mask:

图片6.png

No.Products/BrandsMonthly transactionsBrand origin
1Kefumei Comfy Collagen Dressing150,000China
2BIGLY Salicylic Acid Oil Control Repair Mask130,000China
3KANS GOLD HONEYCOMB ACTIVE MASK130,000China
4geoskincare WATER SPA SLEEPING MASK100,000China
5CHANDO Himalaya Mask100,000China

One sentence summary:

The top-selling facial mask brands are all from China, and medical dressings (facial masks with certificates for medical devices (in Chinese “械字号面膜”) are increasingly popular.

***The above data were collected through searching for keywords in Tmall official website and filtering by sales volume.

Five skincare trends in the China market:

Imported facial cleanser is popular.

Among the top 5 skincare products by transaction numbers in the above categories, domestic brands account for 2/3 of all sales. In the facial cleanser category, imported brands are more popular, while domestic brands dominate the facial mask category.

Number of imported brands by category:

CategoriesNumber
Facial cleanser4
Essence1
Eye cream2
Facial cream1
Toner2
Facial mask0

People spend most on facial masks and essences.

Facial masks and essences are the two most promising segments. The monthly transaction number of the top 5 facial mask products have all exceeded 100,000, and for the essence segment, there are also four products with a monthly transaction number which exceeds 100,000. 

Number of products with monthly transactions exceeding 10,000 by category:

CategoriesNumber
Facial cleanser3
Essence4
Eye cream0
Facial cream1
Toner2
Facial mask5

Sensitive skincare products become increasingly popular.

There is an increasing number of skincare products for sensitive skins. Domestic brands have faired well, such as WINONA and Dr.Yu. WINONA was ranked in the TOP 9 skincare brands on Tmall during the 2019 11/11 Singles' Day Shopping Festival with a sales volume of 347 million yuan [1]. In the 2019 fiscal year, Dr.Yu's sales grew by nearly 80%. The brand’s Singles' Day sales grew by more than 150% year-on-year [2].

Active ingredients driving sales.

Chinese consumers are interested in the state of the art ingredients. Products named after ingredients are popular such as Chinese brand HomeFacialPro’s Lactobionic Acid Essence and Oligopeptide Essence.

Essence and eye cream consumption are showing a high-end trend.

Increasing demand for high-end skincare products is driving growth in essence and eye cream categories.

CategoriesAverage price
Facial cleanser110.4
Essence326
Eye cream277
Facial cream174.8
Toner90.78
Facial mask115.36


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