China’s cosmetic retail sales reached 122 billion RMB ($17.9 billion) in Q1 2026, a 5.9% YoY increase and the first time quarterly sales have surpassed the 120 billion RMB threshold, according to China’s National Bureau of Statistics. In March alone, sales totaled 46.3 billion RMB ($6.79 billion), up 8.3% YoY, outpacing overall retail growth of 1.7%. Online beauty GMV across major platforms exceeded 130 billion RMB ($19.1 billion) in Q1, up 6.83%, with Douyin beauty GMV rising 14.13% and Tmall rebounding 5.7%. Offline channels struggled, with beauty specialty stores and branded counters losing over 4,600 locations in the first two months of the year.

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