Shopbop is the latest online fashion retailer to venture into beauty.
Starting today, Shopbop Beauty is offering a selection of established and emerging beauty brands across skincare, makeup, haircare, beauty tools, and bath and body care. Brands in the selection include Ouai, Costa Brazil, Briogeo, Dr. Barbara Sturm, Joanna Vargas, Olaplex, Augustinus Bader and Uoma Beauty.
Amazon-owned Shopbop’s core fashion business entails ready-to-wear designs from over 1,000 designer labels such as Citizens of Humanity, Free People, Ganni, Rag & Bone, Something Navy and Veronica Beard. As of press time, the e-tailer didn’t disclose the total number of beauty brands or stockkeeping units joining fashion in its assortment.
“We see the complementary relationship between fashion and beauty as an essential pairing for every unique look,” says Stephanie Roberson, chief merchandising officer at Shopbop. “Launching beauty is a natural extension to our existing fashion offering as we continuously seek out opportunities to inspire our customer’s personal style and celebrate self-expression.”
Shopbop tapped Adit, a service owned by Beauty Independent parent company Indie Beauty Media Group introducing emerging beauty brands to retailers, to help source brands for its beauty collection. Province Apothecary, Ogee, Sam Villa and Trio Beauty are among several brands that linked with Shopbop through Adit.
“Shopbop has always been an industry leader, an iconic retailer that is fashion-forward, trend-driven and provides an excellent customer experience,” says Jen Willis, head of sales for the United States at skincare brand Province Apothecary. “We are honored to be a part of their debut beauty assortment and to introduce their loyal customers to Province Apothecary.” In addition to Shopbop, Province Apothecary is carried by The Detox Market, Well.ca, Whole Foods, Credo, Goop and Neiman Marcus.
Hannah Rudinsky, director of channel management at skincare brand Ogee, says, “We are excited to partner with Shopbop as a category leader in their inaugural beauty launch. We felt our luxury collection of certified organic beauty would resonate well with the brand’s audience and curated aesthetic. We are looking forward to connecting with their impressive audience and becoming a vanity staple for their discerning consumers.” Ogee recently entered Bluemercury and Saks Fifth Avenue via Adit, too.
According to a statement from Shopbop, beauty will be available across its website, app and social media accounts. The category will be fully integrated into the e-commerce destination’s marketing.
Despite persistently high inflation that’s propelled some consumers to trade down, prestige shoppers have been increasing their beauty spend. According to the market research firm The NPD Group, beauty sales fueled by American consumers with household incomes over $100,000 jumped 14% year-over-year. They forked over nearly $9 billion for beauty products in the first half of 2022. Irrespective of household income, NPD estimates U.S. prestige beauty rose 16% to hit $6 billion in the second quarter.
The average Shopbop customer fits snugly into the prestige beauty buying cohort and is loyal to the retailer. The e-tailer reports about a third of its customer base visits its site daily. Its monthly visits surpass 10 million. On a yearly basis, it draws around 150 million visits. Shopbop’s Truly Yours loyalty program members, who get early access to deals and new arrivals, contribute over half of its sales.
The field of fashion e-tailers pushing into beauty is expanding. After acquiring upscale beauty specialty retailer Violet Grey in January, Farfetch launched a luxury beauty marketplace in April. In May, Moda Operandi announced it will unveil a makeup, skincare and fragrance assortment in the fall.
Amazon purchased Shopbop in 2006 for an undisclosed sum as the e-commerce giant was making serious moves to capture fashion and accessories market share. Forrester Research approximated Shopbop’s sales at $20 million to $30 million when Amazon scooped it up. In 2009, Amazon acquired Zappos. A few years later, it was reportedly interested in acquiring Net-a-Porter, but the luxury e-commerce retailer merged with Yoox Group.
While Shopbop and Amazon operate as separate entities, Shopbop harnesses Amazon’s fulfillment services for its orders. Amazon Prime members can access Prime shipping perks with Shopbop orders.
Shopbop uses a traditional wholesale business model. Per the e-tailer, brands stocked in its beauty assortment can opt in or out of selling on Amazon through Shopbop’s storefront, The Shop by Shopbop. As the stigma of selling prestige beauty on Amazon wanes, Shopbop Beauty provides a way for brands to test demand on Amazon in a controlled way, with Shopbop controlling inventory, prices, shipping and imagery.
Shopbop’s relationship with Amazon didn’t factor in Province Apothecary’s decision to work with Shopbop, and the brand is evaluating whether to sell on Amazon with Shopbop. Ogee is open to considering a partnership extension in the future. The brand is on Amazon through its own storefront. Rudinsky says, “Amazon remains an active channel for brand discovery and opting into Shopbop’s storefront could be impactful.”
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