The Top 5 Trends Driving the Beauty Market

The beauty industry was one of the fastest growing in 2017, according to The NPD Group.

Larissa Jensen, beauty industry analyst at NPD, shared her thoughts on the top five trends currently driving the industry's success. 

The Top 5 Trends Driving the Beauty Market

1. Natural, wellness-focused beauty: Jensen explained that natural brands are outpacing the growth of all beauty categories, specifically in skin care. 
2. Indie brands: Jensen stated that smaller, indie brands are nimble and able to react to trends more quickly, listen to consumers for inspiration on future products and have a clear focus and a targeted market.
3. Social media: Jensen refers to social media as "the biggest driver in makeup" thanks to social sharing, before-and-after content and influencer marketing and collabor­ations. Jensen was quoted saying, "The top 10 brands in makeup are often the most buzzed about brands on social platforms."
4. Experiential retail: Jensen urged brands to explore specialty stores where consumers can shop and interact with the unique brand and product offerings, a fun retail environment and "Instagr­ammable photo ops" to share on social media. 
5. Dotcom: Online beauty shopping has seen double-digit growth since NPD began tracking it, Jensen said. Such growth can be attributed to convenience, online reviews, replenishment and experime­ntation, and online brands—Kylie Cosmetics and ColourPop—capitalizing on social media and a limited-edition strategy.