E-commerce sales are rising in China for Prestige Beauty, NPD Group reports. Sales rose 11% in the first quarter of 2022, versus last year.

Chinese New Year fueled sales in January and February—and the rise negated March’s decline, the company says. The COVID-19 outbreak led to regional lockdowns and an increase in mask use in March, causing sales to decline 1% for the month. 

Q1 sales for the hair, fragrance, makeup, and skincare categories increased by 43%, 18%, 11%, and 9%, respectively.

In March alone, hair category sales continued to grow, increasing 33% for the month, and there were pockets of growth within face and body skincare, including sun-care. The makeup and fragrance categories experienced respective declines of 6% and 4% in March, versus March 2021.

“China could continue to see prestige makeup sales decline in April and May due to the current lockdowns in some major cities, including Shanghai, the country’s leading manufacturing center,” said Stanley Kee, senior vice president and managing director, APAC, The NPD Group. “However, the situation is likely to improve beginning in June when China’s 618 Shopping Festival kicks off, and the government is expected to release new, favorable policies to boost consumption.”

Data is sourced from The NPD Group / China E-commerce Beauty Tracker, and it is representative of retailers that participate in The NPD Group’s Prestige Beauty E-commerce Tracking Service. NPD’s current estimate is that the Prestige Beauty E-commerce Tracking Service represents approximately 80 percent of the online retail market for prestige beauty in China.

Photo via Pixabay

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