Beauty with terrible power: cosmetics shipments up 60% nationally

Deliveries of cosmetics, perfumes and other beauty products have grown this year, major logistics operators told Izvestia. For example, the Delovye Liniya Group of Companies estimates the growth in the volume of deliveries of such goods at 60% compared to last year. And the number of requests for transportation of such goods increased by 92%.

The trend was confirmed by the federal transportation company Skif-Cargo. In some months, for example, from January to March, shipments of cosmetics and beauty products exceeded last year's volume twice. At the same time, according to the company's sales director Yuri Korobeinikov, the bulk of shipments of such goods falls on November-December, when Russia traditionally holds large-scale sales, and consumers buy gifts for the New Year.

The multiservice logistics operator PEC, as well as NC Logistic, estimated the growth of requests for transportation of cosmetics, perfumes and hygiene products at 10-15% year-on-year.

The greatest demand for the delivery of beauty products is recorded in the Central Federal District, followed by the North-Western and Volga Federal Districts, according to Delovye Liniya. The leaders in cosmetics delivery were Moscow and the Moscow region, where the number of orders increased four times in total compared to last year. In St. Petersburg and Leningrad region it increased by 31%, in Kazan - by 9%.

Skif-Cargo added that the cosmetics market has become mainly domestic over the past few years. Logisticians note that transportation of these goods more often occurs within the country or from Belarus. There are dynamics in the delivery of this category of cargo from China.

Many Western companies have left the Russian market in recent years, experts reminded, which also affected the segment of health and beauty products. Thus, Russians go shopping either on the domestic market or have to order purchases from Western sites through intermediaries.

Now services have become active in the country, which offer the client the address of a warehouse in Europe or the USA, where he can order goods, and then they are sent to Russia. The buyer pays the cost of shipping and a commission to the service.

But the order has to wait for a long time. Thus, vitamins, dietary supplements, cosmetics and other goods from the iHerb site, which has stopped working with Russia, intermediaries promise to deliver them to Russia within seven working days. However, the actual wait for delivery can take several weeks or even months, consumers told Izvestia. At the same time, goods from the same site can be bought on Russian marketplaces, and they have already been delivered to Russia by sellers, but they cost considerably more.

- We believe that logistics will continue to become more complicated against the backdrop of geopolitical factors," believes Artem Deev, head of the analytical department at AMarkets. - Therefore, the domestic market has become more attractive for citizens. Our forecast: the demand for domestically produced cosmetics will grow.

What people buy on marketplaces

The growth of interest in beauty products is also confirmed by marketplaces. For example, sales of perfumes on Wildberries increased by 58% compared to 2023, the company's press service told Izvestia.

- Demand for perfume and toilet water traditionally grows in February and March, which is associated with gender holidays, in the summer months and before the New Year holidays - explained there. - The most demanded positions are men's and women's sets with samples, perfumes with pheromones and oil perfumes.

Demand for cosmetics since the beginning of the year has increased by 15% in piece terms and by 36% in monetary terms. Hair masks and sprays with keratin, eye patches, monarda oil, eyebrow gels and eyeliners, cream wax for skin are the most popular.

On Ozon at the end of three quarters of 2024, the demand for cosmetics grew by 44% in monetary terms year-on-year. The most popular among marketplace customers is the subcategory "care and hygiene", demand for which increased by 56%. There is also an increasing interest in products for children and pregnant women, perfumes and aromatherapy.

- In addition, the demand for cosmetics for hair care and cosmetics for skin care is growing - the demand in these subcategories increased by 45% and 44% respectively, - indicated in the press service.

Russian brands accounted for 38% of cosmetics sales on Ozon this year.

Why the supply of cosmetics has grown

It is with the development of marketplaces logistics companies attribute the growth in the volume of transportation of cosmetics. This has led, among other things, to changes in the model of behavior of end consumers, believes Artem Vaskanyan, deputy general director for logistics at NC Logistic.

- For example, the procedure for returning goods has become much simpler, so consumers are increasingly ordering online goods that they used to buy only in offline stores and retail chains," he explained.

The number of shipments in small batches has doubled, which is due to the emergence of new companies, including self-employed, which produce cosmetics under their own brand name and sell it on marketplaces, added Yuri Korobeinikov.

However, traditional stores are not losing ground either. The volume of cargo delivered to the Golden Apple retail chain in the first three quarters of this year has almost doubled in tons (by 88%), added Dmitry Khrushchalev, Deputy General Director for Development of Delovye Liniya Group of Companies.

Many retail chains have reduced the average storage time of residuals in warehouses to seven days. As a result, this year the size of one delivery of cosmetics and perfumes to retailers' sites decreased, while the frequency of shipments, on the contrary, increased, added the director of PEC: RETAIL Sergey Torochev.

Psychological factor

The growth of interest in beauty products is associated with an increase in the material well-being of Russians, believes the dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Mass Communications of the Finance University, Alexander Shatilov. Thus, according to Rosstat, the real disposable income of the Russian population grew by 9.4% year-on-year in the third quarter.

- Therefore, there is an opportunity to spend money, including on certain extravagances," he told Izvestia.

In addition, according to him, there is a so-called consumer spiral, according to which society is always striving to reach a new level of consumption.

- This is reflected, among other things, in the desire to buy something new, pleasant, luxurious," the expert explained.

Alexander Shatilov reminded that since 2020 the mankind lives in conditions of noticeable stress.

- In such a situation, shopping for many people becomes a kind of compensation, an opportunity to distract from anxious thoughts and please themselves. This psychological aspect should not be discounted either," he added.

At the same time, the departure of many brands has not led to shortages, the expert believes. Since all necessary goods can still be purchased, albeit with some difficulties. But the difficulties in buying from abroad stimulate both domestic manufacturers to be more active on the market and buyers to pay more attention to Russian developments.