According to The Washington Post, while many apparel and electronics retailers are struggling to get customers to open their wallets, those in the prestige beauty industry, including retailers such as Sephora (Paris) and Ulta (Bolingbrook, Ill.), have seen “blockbuster sales results.”
The prestige beauty category includes makeup, fragrances and skincare products that are a step-up from drugstore brands. According to market research firm NPD Group (Port Washington, N.Y.), this group as a whole witnessed a 7-percent sales increase last year, with the makeup portion seeing sales increase almost twice that at 13 percent.
“We live in that selfie-ready age,” said Karen Grant, beauty industry analyst at NPD. “And makeup, we’re seeing, is allowing people to feel more confident.”