Leading Brands in US Beauty Retail: Q4 2023 Overview

Introduction

In the competitive landscape of beauty retail, brands like Ulta, Sephora, and Ipsy continue to dominate with significant online and app engagement. Sensor Tower provides unparalleled insights into these brands' performance, allowing us to cross-reference web, app, and advertising data for a comprehensive analysis. This article delves into the trends and data for each brand from Q3 2023 to Q4 2023.

Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance, Inc

Ulta's digital presence includes ulta.com and the Ulta Beauty: Makeup & Skincare app.

• Audience Trends: Ulta.com saw a fluctuating number of visits, with a notable increase in November, peaking above 260M visits. The true monthly deduplicated audience remained stable above 20M throughout the quarter, with a significant rise in November.

• App Engagement: The app's monthly active users grew steadily, reaching over 2.2M by December, indicating increased mobile engagement.

• Ad Spend & Channels: Ulta's monthly advertising expenditure peaked in November, spending over $19M, with significant impressions across desktop display and OTT (Over-the-top media service) channels.

Sephora

Sephora maintains a robust digital footprint with sephora.com and the Sephora app.

• Audience Trends: Sephora.com experienced a surge in visits, particularly in November, with unique visits surpassing 21M. The true monthly deduplicated audience consistently exceeded 18M, with significant app-only visitor growth.

• App Engagement: The app's monthly active users increased steadily, reaching nearly 2.4M by December, highlighting strong mobile engagement.

• Ad Spend & Channels: Sephora's monthly advertising spend saw a sharp increase in December, exceeding $39M, with OTT channels delivering substantial impressions.

Ipsy

Ipsy's digital presence is centered around ipsy.com and the IPSY: Personalized Beauty app.

• Audience Trends: Ipsy.com maintained a stable visitor count, peaking in November with unique visits around 2.1M. The true monthly deduplicated audience hovered around 2M, with a slight decline towards the end of the year.

• App Engagement: The app's monthly active users remained relatively stable, slightly declining to just under 400K by December.

• Ad Spend & Channels: Ipsy's monthly advertising spend decreased throughout the quarter, with December seeing a modest spend of approximately $1.6M, focusing on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram.

Conclusion

The beauty retail sector in the US saw dynamic shifts in Q4 2023, with Ulta, Sephora, and Ipsy each showcasing unique digital strategies. Sensor Tower's comprehensive data offerings provide critical insights into these brands' online and app engagements, underscoring the importance of cross-platform analysis for understanding consumer behavior. For more detailed insights, explore Sensor Tower's Web Insights, Pathmatics, and App Performance Insights.