Beauty and make-up promotions are changing

The beauty industry is constantly evolving, along with its promotions, offers, and advertising strategies. The days when a simple gift with purchase, like a sample or two, sufficed are long gone. Today’s market is highly competitive, and consumers are more knowledgeable and demanding. Moments of super discounts are multiplying and competing against each other, with brands and multi-brand stores launching their own promotional formats, such as Ulta’s 21 Days of Beauty, Amazon Prime Day, and the Sephora Saving Event. Meanwhile, China’s Singles' Day—a celebration of singlehood often tied to shopping—continues to gain international traction, and it’s only a matter of time before it’s exported more widely.

The Strategy Behind Holiday Beauty, Makeup, and Wellness Promotions

Between Black Friday and Christmas, the last few months of the year are no exception. For Sephora, as WWD revealed in an interview with Emeline Berlind, general manager of loyalty programs, it’s all about "thinking about the diverse groups of consumers" and "ensuring we offer solutions that meet their needs." This explains the push toward holiday gift sets, which offer great value, and the Beauty Insider program, which provides personalized discounts based on accrued purchase points. The goal? Build loyalty, create excitement, and meet everyone’s needs.

Will There Be More Holiday Discounts This Year?

The trend is clear: a competition among brands that benefits the end consumer, who is increasingly accustomed to taking advantage of these moments. The only exception? Fragrances. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean that promotions will increase or that the beauty industry is more promotion-driven than in past years—not officially, at least. According to Cassie Cowman, co-founder of View From 32, some brands and multi-brand retailers have moved promotions forward, while others have communicated them more explicitly than before, both online and offline. It’s more of a shift than an actual increase in discounts.

Competition from TikTok Shop and Amazon Prime

Joining the fray—and making the competition even more fierce, pushing major retailers to adopt integrated strategies—are Amazon, which is increasingly focused on the beauty sector amid dupes and outright counterfeits, and TikTok Shop, which has not yet launched in Italy but is already booming in the U.S.

Do Holiday Discounts Work? Yes, But...

Not all that glitters is gold. According to data from Circana, which measures consumer behavior, in the first nine months of 2024, about 29% of luxury beauty sales were made through promotions. In 2023, that figure was 27%. On the other hand, the average value of discounts has decreased rather than increased: over the past five years, it has dropped from 22% to 20%. A similar trend is seen in the mass market segment, where promotional levels are rising, and average prices are higher than in 2023.