Festive face-off: Who will win the health and beauty battle this golden quarter?

As the countdown to Christmas begins, health and beauty is the one non-food category forecast to make big gains this golden quarter.  

While unpredictable weather and reduced discretionary spending have impacted categories like fashion, luxury and electricals, health and beauty has consistently grown over the past few years, including at the height of the cost-of-living crisis.  

This is likely to continue into the fourth quarter. GlobalData predicts the sector will grow 4% during the period. Tash Van Boxel, an analyst at the firm, points out this is an “impressive feat, given it will be up against a strong comparative figure of 7% growth in 2023”.

A quick look at the high street is enough to tell you retailers are ready to battle to grow their share of the lucrative market. 

Here, we take a look at how some of the biggest retailers in the UK are betting on beauty this Christmas and who is likely to come out on top. 

Betting on beauty 

High street giants like M&S, Next and John Lewis, which aren’t core beauty players, are investing in their health and beauty offerings this Christmas. 

Whether that’s in the form of small add-on gift sets around checkouts or online recommended products to encourage more shoppers to purchase in the category and bolster average basket size. 

All eyes will be on John Lewis, as it’s set to open its much-anticipated revamped beauty hall at Oxford Street, adding popular brands to its offering to give customers a one-stop experience. 

While M&S has enhanced its beauty range, giving it more space in-store and branching out into mystery boxes to enable consumers to try brands and products before investing in full-size versions. 

Van Boxel says given the potential for growth, “retailers are wise to invest in their health and beauty offering, especially as other non-food categories are struggling in 2024”.

Over at the UK’s largest health and beauty retailer, Boots, things are looking rosy as it launches its biggest-ever beauty campaign ahead of the festive season and adds 25 new brands to its roster. 

Jenna Ward, head of gift transformation at Boots, said: “This Christmas, Boots has an amazing and unrivalled range of gifts available, with over 1,300 products on offer from over 160 different brands.  

“We predict that beauty and skincare gifting will be popular, as customers invest in brands they are confident their loved ones will love. As the UK’s favourite beauty retailer, Boots is perfectly placed to deliver on that trend with over 60 new brands joining its beauty line-up over the past year. There are over 700 beauty gifts available at Boots this Christmas, including trending brands such as Bubble, Laneige, Byoma and Made by Mitchell.”

Top of the table 

Boots and Superdrug still hold the upper hand in the category due to their scale and mix of value and premium ranges. 

Van Boxel says: “Boots and Superdrug will be favourites to be big winners this year, as they were last year, but we can expect softer growth in 2024 compared to the previous year, as retailers will be up against tougher comparatives.”

Sephora is likely to do well as it continues on its path of rapid expansion but still has work to do to compete with the giants in the UK, Boxel adds.

“Sephora is likely to do well as it has begun its Christmas and Black Friday campaign early, putting its advent calendar up for sale last month. Sephora has been rapidly and successfully expanding its presence across the UK,” she says.

“We do not think it can compete with Boots or Superdrug in 2024 as its store estate is still limited but it is one to watch, and health and beauty specialists must not be complacent. Sephora will be a force to be reckoned with when it reaches full strength.”