Quick Take: Beauty Proves to Be a Bright Spot for US Department Stores

Executive Summary

• In the US, beauty is a higher-growth market than apparel, and a number of department store chains are making efforts to tap demand for categories such as skin care and color cosmetics.
• In 2016, department stores’ physical shops accounted for $8.4 billion, or around 10%, of beauty and personal care sales, according to Euromonitor International. Both these figures would be slightly higher if we included online sales.
• Macy’s is by far the most-shopped department store for the core skin care and cosmetics category, according to survey data from Prosper Insights & Analytics. Quality, choice and location are the top reasons why Macy’s most-loyal beauty shoppers choose to buy from the retailer.
• Macy’s is bringing its Bluemercury beauty-store format to more stores and is set to launch a beauty box service this spring.
• JCPenney is set to bring Sephora to 30 more stores and remodel 100 in-store salons this year.