• by Laurie Sullivan , June 26, 2024

Consumers are splurging on cosmetics, helping to boost online spend in cosmetics by $16.3 billion this year -- up 8.8% vs. a year ago, despite the decline in the broader personal category for the most expensive goods, according to Adobe data released Wednesday.

Adobe called out specific items in the Cosmetics category, helping brands to color-coordinate advertisements for summer months.  

Cosmetics, part of Adobe’s “personal care” category in its higher-end goods segment experienced a overall drop in share by 10.8%, but Adobe insists some subcategories within Cosmetics “bucks the trend.” 

Higher-end lipsticks rose 37.1%, while fragrances rose 19.4% and daily online sales rocketed up as much as 53%. 

Adobe also called out surging trends around what colors consumers are buying. Jeweled-toned lipsticks in plum, mauve, and purple rose 103% year-over-year. Understated and lightweight concealers rose 51.5%, compared with the prior year.

Plumping lip gloss continues to be a popular item -- up 60% YoY.

Lengthening mascara has seen sales rise 30.9% YoY, and volumizing, lifting and curling mascaras have seen slightly negative growth in the same time period.

Skin care, serums, creams and other related products containing peptides and ceramides have become increasingly popular -- rising 30.2% YoY.

Based on Adobe Analytics data, the report provides a view into U.S. ecommerce by analyzing direct transactions online, covering more than one trillion visits to U.S. retail sites, 100 million SKUs and 18 product categories.

Analysts tracked 18 categories, gathering and analyzing the data between January 1, and May 31. Prices were split into four quartiles, highest to lowest, analyzing the two most expensive, tracking its change in share.     

Contrast the rise in cosmetics with electronics, which drove $77.8 billion in the same time period but grew more modestly at 3.2% YoY. And in apparel, consumers spent $65.9 billion, up 2.9% YoY.

Higher-end goods such as electronics saw share of purchases fall 8.5% between April and May 2024, compared with January 2024. 

Apparel higher-end goods fell 9.5%. Other categories with a similar trend include furniture and bedding, which fell 11%; and Home and garden, which fell 20.8%.