Indians are buying beauty products online, better get a mobile friendly app

The global beauty industry continues to gain momentum every year, and more and more sales are made online. However, Indian consumers are splurging on beauty this year. According to Admitad, part of Mitgo, a brand in online advertising, while global sales of the beauty and self-care industry grew by more than 15% in the first half of the year, the average order value of online sales of beauty products in India has increased by a few percent and is now around US$15.

Local customers prefer to make smaller orders and actively take advantage of discount periods and bundles.

In 2022, Indian buying activity in the beauty industry hardly experienced any growth, but in the first half of 2023, it caught up with and even began to slightly outpace the pace of global customer activity

Neha Kulwal, Managing Director, APAC and India, Mitgo

According to Neha Kulwal, Managing Director, APAC and India, Mitgo, “In 2022, Indian buying activity in the beauty industry hardly experienced any growth, but in the first half of 2023, it caught up with and even began to slightly outpace the pace of global customer activity. The number of beauty orders grew by 13% and the amount Indian shoppers are willing to spend on cosmetics and self-care rose by 20%.”

The report, which included brands like Sephora, Alibaba, Apollo 24X7, Forest Essentials, Plum Goodness, Beardo, BABOR, Loccitane, Clarins, Calvin Klein, Kiehl’s, and many others, also says that the number of online orders in India jumped by 13% YoY. GMV of local beauty orders also jumped by more than 20%.

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The number of global online sales grew by 11% in 2022, and in the first half of 2023 the growth has already hit the mark of 15%. GMV is up by 8% and by 12% respectively.

The top 10 countries by the size of the average order value of beauty orders currently look like this:

‘Benefit’ & ‘Smart Shopping’

In 2023, the keywords in online shopping for beauty products are ‘benefit’ and ‘smart shopping’. Therefore, Admitad calculates that coupon and cashback purchases rank high worldwide. However, the recommendations of influencers and content creators still faithfully generate orders for beauty brands – their share in the total number of orders is also significant:

Interestingly, on average, global orders for beauty products from Google contextual ads grew by more than 30% in 2023. Messengers, in particular Telegram, also became record-breakers in terms of sales growth in this segment – the number of orders through them more than doubled. Sales from Affiliate stores increased by 45%.

Coupon platforms in India have had a greater impact on shoppers’ decisions than the global average, accounting for more than 22.5% of all orders

Admitad estimates that coupon platforms in India have had a greater impact on shoppers’ decisions than the global average, accounting for more than 22.5% of all orders. The positive attitude towards them in the country continues to grow – in 2023, the number of purchases in which Indian shoppers applied a coupon increased by 14%.

Content sites and cashback services, on the other hand, attracted a few percent less shoppers in the beauty industry. The share of purchases through contextual advertising and affiliate stores was at the global level.

Social Media Aids

A unique trend for India has been the explosion of beauty purchases through messenger Telegram. Their number more than quadrupled in 2023 and their share in total orders exceeded 10%. Brands should definitely take messenger seriously, including Telegram channels and buying ads there in their marketing strategy.

The rapid growth in the number of beauty purchases through contextual advertising on Google – this year it was this advertising network that accounted for more than half of all orders from advertising networks (including Yahoo, Facebook and other networks)

It is also important to note the rapid growth in the number of beauty purchases through contextual advertising on Google – this year it was this advertising network that accounted for more than half of all orders from advertising networks (including Yahoo, Facebook and other networks).

The Mobile Frenzy

The share of mobile sales in the global beauty industry in 2023 already stands at a staggering 46% and continues to grow (in 2022, the share of mobile sales was 44%).

Every brand that doesn’t yet have a mobile-friendly website or mobile app should devote resources to developing one right now so that they don’t miss out on the majority of customers

Indian users are overtaking global trends again – in 2022, more than 60% of orders in the beauty industry were made from phones. And in 2023, this figure has already exceeded 70%. Every brand that doesn’t yet have a mobile-friendly website or mobile app should devote resources to developing one right now so that they don’t miss out on the majority of customers.

The Future Looks Beauty Full

Both global and Indian figures clearly indicate that the growth of online sales in the beauty industry will continue. According to Admitad experts, 2023 may end even more positively for Indian beauty brands than the successful 2022. It is highly likely that the increase in the number of their sales for the whole year will reach up to 20%.

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Businesses should pay attention to the most effective traffic sources and those customer acquisition channels that show growth or have the highest average order value. This approach will help them not to miss trends and increase not only the number of orders, but also improve other important business indicators.