Inflation who? The beauty industry is boomin’

Maybe she’s born with it… or maybe she’s spending all of her disposable income on makeup.

Per The Washington Post, it’s the latter, and the beauty industry is flush with cash despite broader economic hardships:

• Sales for US mass market beauty products — sold in drug and grocery stores — reached $30B last year, up 4% from 2021.
• Prestige beauty brands — sold in department and specialty stores — raked in nearly as much with $27B in sales and 15% YoY growth.

With the inflation rate at 5% in March…

… many Americans felt the squeeze everywhere from grocery stores to clothing stores, and retail sales fell 1%.

But the beauty industry remains resilient, and it’s not the first time:

• Estée Lauder chairman Leonard Lauder coined the term “lipstick index” in 2001 when he noticed makeup sales climbing despite the recession.
• The trend goes all the way back to 1929 during the Great Depression.

And beauty is showing no signs of slowing down: LVMH, the luxury group that owns Sephora and other brands, reported an 11% rise in perfume and cosmetics sales in its first quarter.

Whether customers are scouring shelves for cheap self-care antidotes or luxury pick-me-ups, it’s likely they’ve gotten a recommendation or two from social media.

The #beauty hashtag on TikTok has amassed 175B views and counting, with 89% of users reporting they’ve purchased beauty products after seeing them on the app.

That’s a lot of lip gloss.