Three markets leading in health & beauty inspirations

The global health and beauty market is forecast to grow at an annual rate of 3.3%* between 2024 and 2028. To acquire more market share, retailers and suppliers are diversifying their strategies to meet the evolving needs of shoppers. In our latest Global health and beauty trends 2025 report, we identified five key trends for 2025: store experience, personalisation, social media, serving more needs and sustainable solutions. In this article, to inspire, we highlight three markets pioneering the identified trends.

^{* Data from Attest (Beauty and cosmetics market size: growth and industry trends).}

Key takeaways:

1. Driving inclusivity: help shoppers navigate stores and categories easily to make them feel more supported, eco-conscious and empowered.

2. Get innovative in-store: best-in-class global retailers are showing how tailored and immersive services and products drive shopper satisfaction and repeat footfall.

3. Cultivating shopper loyalty: connect with shoppers via genuine, organic content to boost sales and build a robust shopper community.

United Kingdom: placing inclusivity, wellness, and sustainability at the forefront

While retailers and suppliers are evolving their offers to appeal to Gen Z shoppers, some players in the UK are also targeting underserved demographics to broaden their shopper base. Boots has added dedicated menopause zones in-store and expanded its menopause-friendly range. The category is divided by key symptoms to help women navigate the aisles. This showcases how Boots is making its products more inclusive and relevant to shoppers, as the retailer acknowledges the evolving needs based on different life stages.

More leading players, as shoppers place a greater importance on being eco-friendly and living a healthier lifestyle, are also embedding wellness and sustainability into their latest offers. The Great British Beauty Clean Up is a collaboration of over 50 retailers, brands and industry professionals to tackle the beauty waste problem. It promotes the adoption of reuse and refill systems while raising awareness about sustainability. This large-scale industry collaboration helps to accelerate progress while inspiring shoppers and businesses to embrace more eco-friendly practices.

In terms of wellness, Holland & Barrett, our May Store of the Month winner, has opened an ‘experience store’ in Cardiff that embodies the philosophy of ‘wellness retail’. The concept is designed to connect more deeply with shoppers via value-adding services, innovation and science-backed expertise. Key features, such as an H&B&Me app space to help shoppers discover their biological age and personalised wellness goals, and a ‘Let’s Talk Wellness’ island for shopper consultation around health.

South Korea: pioneering in-store experience and personalisation

Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea continues to push the boundaries of a physical store through leveraging technology, next-level personalisation and product innovation.

Olive Young, South Korea’s leading drugstore retailer, engages shoppers from all demographics through interactive fixtures, exclusive products and services. For instance, to engage shoppers, its flagship store dedicates the ground floor as a pop-up zone, which is refreshed every six weeks with entirely new themes and activations. It also offers a variety of programmes to help shoppers find their best style and products, such as a 15-minute express lesson to teach shoppers how to do eye makeup, and a colour tone service to help shoppers select the best four shades out of 60 options.

Meanwhile, Amorepacific has added a technological twist to personalisation services. It offers an in-store customised skincare booth, where shoppers complete an AI skin analysis to create their own product, including both product formulation and packaging. The machine that creates the formulation is behind glass, enabling shoppers to watch the entire process.

USA: winning on social media

NielsenIQ’s statistics indicate that 41% of H&B sales happened online in America in 2024, underpinning the importance of continued investment in online marketplace and social media to further drive shopper engagement and sales.

As a result, more suppliers are investing in social media influencer marketing to expand their reach. For instance, Unilever operates Cleanipedia, an influencer platform on TikTok and Instagram featuring a range of creators. It provides product knowledge to help them create relevant and organic content, such as tips and hacks, to build trust and relevance with Gen Z shoppers.

Additionally, America remains the powerhouse of the latest beauty trends due to the number of viral beauty influencers and celebrity-owned brands. With more celebrities launching beauty brands, their social media accounts have become a powerful tool to interact with fans while promoting their brands. For instance, Hailey Bieber posting a selfie with the Rhode lip gloss phone case immediately caused a stir online due to the phone case’s unique appearance. Despite the mixed reviews, this marketing tactic generated phenomenal exposure and sales for the brand. Rhode’s success eventually attracted E.l.f. Beauty, which acquired Rhode for US$1 billion in May 2025.