Walmart Amplifies Premium Beauty Presence with New Online Custom Shops

Walmart is making significant strides in the premium beauty sector with its latest initiative, launching dedicated online shops that feature over 1,000 products across skin care and hair care categories. The introduction of 20 prestigious brands, including CosRX, Paul Mitchell, and Foreo, marks a strategic expansion of Walmart’s beauty offerings.

Each brand within this new lineup is provided with customized storefronts designed to offer more than just products; they allow for storytelling and brand-building through rich editorial content. This approach is intended to give these brands a platform to convey their unique stories and values directly to consumers.

This expansion builds on Walmart’s previous endeavors, such as the integration of shops-in-shop in collaboration with the entity formerly known as Space NK, which introduced brands like Mario Badescu and NuFace to Walmart’s physical and online aisles. The move reflects Walmart’s ongoing efforts to enhance its marketplace model, which has seen a 32% growth in the last quarter alone.

The initiative also highlights Walmart’s commitment to supporting smaller, indie brands, offering them crucial fulfillment services to aid in reaching a broader audience quickly and efficiently. This support is expected to be particularly impactful as Walmart prepares for the upcoming holiday season, where it anticipates high consumer engagement and sales.

In addition to beauty, Walmart is also leveraging its fashion category to enhance its style offerings, integrating marketing efforts across both segments to elevate consumer interest and consideration.

Amidst growing competition in the online beauty market, the move by Walmart is timely. In 2023, Amazon reported sales of over 1 billion beauty products in the U.S. alone and bolstered its inventory with prestigious brands like Clinique, Too Faced, Bumble & bumble, and Kiehl’s. Analysts from Morgan Stanley predict that Amazon might overtake Walmart as the largest beauty retailer by 2025, underscoring the competitive dynamics of the sector.

With this backdrop, Walmart’s enhanced focus on premium beauty demonstrates its ambition to become a key player in this lucrative market. As the holiday season approaches, Walmart is poised to capitalize on its expanded product range and innovative marketplace model.