The beauty segment has remained resilient despite consumers’ caution around discretionary spending, and Walmart, known for its “everyday low prices,” has expanded its premium options as the market has grown.
Prestige beauty sales rose 7% year over year in 2024, with mass market options up only 3%, according to a report from Circana last month.
“The beauty industry’s resilience continues to shine as consumers turn to beauty to not only look, but also feel good,” Larissa Jensen, Circana global beauty industry adviser, said in a statement. “With beauty products intertwined with consumers’ emotional needs and wellness routines, maximizing this opportunity will go a long way to ensure a healthy future for our industry.”
Walmart added more than 60 brands to its premium beauty assortment in the past year, including Pretty Smart, Being and Curology, according to a company blog post Friday.
The retail giant is also leveraging its marketplace to expand its offer. Since launching that effort last year, brands like L'ange and Victoria's Secret grew double-digits and T3 grew triple digits, Vinima Shekhar, Walmart U.S. vice president of beauty merchandising, said in the post.
“Customers have been loving the addition of premium beauty to Walmart since we first launched our initial assortment a few years ago,” Shekhar said. “We’ve worked to identify brands that our customers are looking for across the category and are excited to bring them to Walmart.”
Also on Friday, the company introduced the four upstart brands participating in its beauty accelerator program, Walmart Start. More than 10 brands have been sold in Walmart stores and online since Walmart Start debuted in 2022.
This year’s brands are Maison 276, hair care for silver and blonde hair, founded by Angel Cornelius; Nappy Styles, hair care for natural hair inspired by master barbers; fragrance brand Lattafa, inspired by Arabian culture; and Kativa, hair care brand free of “aggressive chemical ingredients.”
Fragrance and hair care were the two fastest-growing categories in prestige beauty last year, according to Circana. They grew 12% and 9%, respectively.
Competition has been fierce in the beauty market. Ulta last week acknowledged it had lost market share. In January, Sephora said it would overhaul its entire fleet in North America. Last year Kohl’s, which has otherwise been struggling, said sales at its Sephora shop-in-shops topped $1.4 billion in 2023 and that it would continue to expand the concept.
