Leading Brands in US Beauty Retail: A Q2 2024 Analysis

Introduction

The US beauty retail market continues to thrive, with leading brands such as Ulta Salon, Sephora, and Ipsy capturing significant audience attention across web and app platforms. This article delves into their performance from Q1 to Q2 2024, highlighting audience trends and advertising strategies. Sensor Tower's comprehensive data, including Web Insights, App Performance Insights, and Pathmatics, provides a detailed view of these brands' digital presence.

Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance, Inc.

Digital Presence: Ulta's primary digital channels include ulta.com and the Ulta Beauty: Makeup & Skincare app.

• Audience Trends: Throughout Q2 2024, ulta.com maintained a stable monthly deduplicated audience, with numbers consistently above 23M. The website saw a slight decline in visits, with May peaking over 230M unique visits. The app, however, saw stable engagement with monthly active users hovering around 2.2M.

• App Engagement: Monthly active users on the Ulta Beauty app remained relatively stable, with a slight increase in June, reaching around 2.3M.

• Ad Spend & Channels: Ulta's monthly advertising expenditure showed fluctuations, with a notable peak in March at over $12M. The primary channels included Facebook and Instagram, delivering significant impressions, particularly on OTT platforms.

Sephora

Digital Presence: Sephora's digital strategy involves sephora.com and the Sephora app.

• Audience Trends: The website experienced a remarkable spike in April, with visits reaching over 19M unique visitors. The monthly deduplicated audience remained robust, consistently above 20M.

• App Engagement: The Sephora app saw a steady user base, with monthly active users fluctuating slightly but maintaining around 2.4M.

• Ad Spend & Channels: Sephora's monthly ad spend peaked significantly in April, surpassing $28M, with OTT and Instagram being the dominant channels, delivering high engagement rates.

Ipsy

Digital Presence: Ipsy's digital engagement is driven by ipsy.com and the IPSY: Personalized Beauty app.

• Audience Trends: The website showed a decline in June, with unique visits dropping to approximately 1.3M. The monthly deduplicated audience saw a decrease, hovering around 1.6M.

• App Engagement: The app maintained a stable user base, with monthly active users consistently around 370K.

• Ad Spend & Channels: Ipsy's advertising efforts increased towards June, with monthly spend reaching over $2.5M, primarily focusing on Snapchat and TikTok for impressions.

Conclusion

Ulta, Sephora, and Ipsy continue to lead the beauty retail category, each with distinct strategies and audience engagements. Sensor Tower's unique cross-referencing of web, app, and advertising data provides unparalleled insights into these brands' digital footprints, essential for understanding cross-platform user behavior. With Sensor Tower's offerings such as Web Insights, Pathmatics, and App Performance Insights, stakeholders can make informed decisions in a dynamic market.

By leveraging Sensor Tower's consolidated data, decision-makers gain a competitive edge in navigating the evolving landscape of beauty retail. This strategic insight is invaluable for aligning business objectives with market trends, ensuring sustained growth and innovation.