During the holiday, it’s the little things that count, especially when it comes to beauty.
“The smaller items that don’t generally get the big headlines, will have a big impact on the market this holiday season,” said Karen Grant, vice president and global industry analyst, The NPD Group, Inc. “Taking advantage of opportunities in unexpected spaces is key in today’s shifting prestige beauty market.”
The NPD Group’s Beauty Holiday 2014 Outlook reported that potential stocking stuffers at an affordable price like eyeliners, facial skin-care masks and miniature fragrances will help drive holiday sales.
To that end, makeup leads overall prestige beauty with dollar sales up almost 10 percent from last year and will continue to thrive this holiday season with eye and lip items as the primary drivers.
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While fragrance has gotten a bad rep for years, its still a top category during the holidays and according to the NPD Group, it’s finally growing well. Fragrance has been reported as the fifth most-popular purchase of the season, and the outlook is expected to remain positive.
“We have been seeing a lot more women’s fragrances on the market this year, and those tend to resonate more with consumers,” noted Grant.
Meanwhile, skin care is on the low end of shopper’s wish lists. For the first time in a decade, overall category performance is below that of fragrance. Even though sales from indie and premium priced brands are robust, it can’t overcome the softness in top sub segments like facial moisturizers, age specialists and gifts. The NPD Group recommended that capitalizing on the smaller subcategories that are growing will help keep skin care afloat this season.