China’s beauty market grows as shoppers spend more per item

What happened China’s cosmetics sales rose 6.1% to 309.4 billion RMB ($46.1 billion) in the first eight months of 2026, outpacing the 1.1% increase in overall retail sales, according to National Bureau of Statistics figures released September 15. Growth accelerated from 3.3% a year earlier, with August sales up 4.9%, extending the sector’s recovery despite weak consumer spending across the wider economy. China’s fragrance and cosmetics industry association reported first-half offline beauty sales growth of 2.13%, the surge flags the returning importance of physical retail. Growth is happening beyond a single channel: online sales increased by 5.74%, beauty GMV across Taobao, Tmall, JD.com and Douyin reached 270.86 billion RMB ($40.3 billion), up 5.5%. The Jing Take Across the four platforms, skincare sales edged up just 1.18%, yet Estée Lauder’s skincare GMV surged 44.06%, and international brands occupied eight of the category’s top 10 positions. According to Huafu Securities, online sales of skincare products priced above 1,500 RMB ($223) increased 25.6% in the first half of 2026. Domestic brands have a stronger foothold in makeup, fragrance and beauty tools, where platform sales increased 13.17%. The four positions immediately behind category leader YSL went to Chinese labels. Maogeping’s GMV in the category rose 52.36%, while Flower Knows grew 67.34%. The balance between international and Chinese brands depends heavily on what consumers are buying. Mao Geping’s first-half offline cosmetics revenue increased 19.9%, while revenue across 356 comparable counters rose approximately 16.7%. Existing locations are therefore contributing significantly to growth. Its gains sit well above the industry’s modest offline recovery, suggesting that successful counters can still win spending even while the broader store network struggles. Online, the case for concentrating investment on Douyin has become less straightforward. Its GMV increased 14.48%, down from 24.1% a year earlier, while Tmall returned to 5.04% growth after two consecutive first-half declines. Tmall’s average selling price was 122.22 RMB ($18.21), against Douyin’s 76.24 ($11.36) RMB. That gap reflects different product and seller mixes, but it also underlines why the fastest-growing platform cannot stand in for the entire market. With cosmetics sales growing 6.1% against a 1.1% rise in overall retail spending, beauty remains a relative bright spot in China’s subdued consumer economy. The gains also leave room for competing players: international brands occupied eight of the top 10 online skincare positions, while Chinese labels took four of the top five places in makeup, fragrance and beauty tools. Tmall’s return to growth and the 2.13% increase in offline beauty sales suggest that opportunities are broadening across channels. Higher average selling prices are also contributing materially to growth, giving premium beauty brands grounds for optimism, however, a more expensive basket does not necessarily mean a broader customer base. The Jing Take reports on a piece of the leading news and presents our editorial team’s analysis of the key implications for the luxury industry. In the recurring column, we analyze everything from product drops and mergers to heated debate sprouting on Chinese social media.

China’s beauty market grows as shoppers spend more per item

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China’s beauty market grows as shoppers spend more per item

How Bottega Veneta weaved China’s forever it bag