E-commerce fuels global rise of cultural beauty

Global marketplaces like Amazon dominate the industry.

Beauty traditions once confined to specific regions are now thriving worldwide, thanks to e-commerce.

In a report by Euromonitor International, French skincare, Ayurvedic beauty, and Korean skincare—once exclusive to their home markets—are now just a click away. As demand grows, cultural beauty brands are expanding into multibillion-dollar businesses.

The report noted that a decade ago, finding authentic K-beauty or J-beauty products required travel or specialty stores. Now, global marketplaces like Amazon dominate the industry, with beauty and personal care making up 70% of FMCG e-commerce sales. Amazon alone accounted for 38% of online sales for leading cultural beauty brands in 2024.

COSRX, a top Korean beauty brand, sold 72% of its e-commerce products through Amazon. Social media has further accelerated growth—#Kbeauty has over 7.7 million posts on Instagram and 1.4 million on TikTok, proving the power of user-generated content in spreading beauty trends.

Asian beauty brands, particularly from Korea and Japan, are thriving overseas. On average, home markets account for only 22% of their e-commerce sales. COSRX leads the trend, with 93% of its online sales coming from outside South Korea.

Indian beauty brands face more challenges despite a large diaspora. Forest Essentials, for example, sees only 28% of its e-commerce sales from international markets. African beauty brands, however, are gaining traction by marketing to dark-skinned consumers and leveraging unique ingredients.

Moreover, nearly half (47%) of beauty professionals report that AI has boosted customer engagement through tailored recommendations. Technologies like DNA-based skincare analysis and AI beauty advisors will further personalise beauty routines.

The report also said that e-commerce in emerging markets is also set to grow. Beauty and personal care sales in Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East reached $47b in 2024 and are expected to hit $75b by 2028.

Also Read

JD.com launches three special delivery options for personalised gifting

Rakuten Rakuma to expand cross-border sales on eBay USA

Since you're here...

...there are many ways you can work with us to advertise your company and connect to your customers. Our team can help you dight and create an advertising campaign, in print and digital, on this website and in print magazine.

We can also organize a real life or digital event for you and find thought leader speakers as well as industry leaders, who could be your potential partners, to join the event. We also run some awards programmes which give you an opportunity to be recognized for your achievements during the year and you can join this as a participant or a sponsor.

Let us help you drive your business forward with a good partnership!

I want to download the media kit