The trade organisation, which is dedicated to fostering cross-border e-commerce in Europe, revealed that the biggest cross-border key player in the beauty category was Czech Republic retailer Notino, which came 30th in its overall ranking of the top 250 fashion and beauty retailers.
Also in the top five were Swiss brand manufacturer Oriflame in second place, US pure play business Dermstore in third place, UK manufacturer Avon in fourth place, and Netherlands pure player Farmaline in fifth place.
The top 250 ranking unveiled the pivotal players in the fashion and beauty sector that are operating across borders in 30 countries (the EU27, UK, Switzerland and Norway) through online platforms, predominantly B2C and C2C sellers and excluding B2B sellers.
Cross-Border Commerce Europe shared that Europe’s online fashion and beauty market achieved a turnover of €122bn in 2022 (from which €45bn is cross-border) and it is projected to reach €144bn by 2026, which would mark 18% growth.
It said that this upward trajectory is supported by the presence of C2C marketplaces that offer sustainable second-hand fashion and resale options.
Online market poised for continuous growth over the next five years
The total EU online retail B2C market amounted to €729bn in 2022, with fashion and beauty sales accounting for 17% of this sum, according to Cross-Border Commerce Europe’s data.
It said that it anticipated that over a quarter of fashion and beauty trade would be conducted online by 2026.
Emerging trends such as the metaverse, livestream shopping, personalisation, and second-hand selling are all expected to bolster the growth.
The trade organisation also shared that German, and French consumers exhibited a stronger preference for European companies, as eight out of the ten of the most popular companies in Germany were Europe-based, and nine out of ten in France. While British consumers appeared to favour American and Chinese companies in this space.
Marketplace and C2C selling will grow
Cross-Border Commerce Europe also noted that marketplace retail was playing a significant role in driving online fashion and beauty trade, accounting for nearly half of all online fashion transactions.
When it came to marketplaces, which allow consumers to directly connect to and buy from third-party retailers, Sephora took the lead as the top beauty retailer in this area.
It also revealed that the consumer-to-consumer (C2C) resale business was expanding and now contributed to 12% of online fashion trade. It said that this portion is projected to further grow and expected to represent one-sixth of total online fashion sales by 2026.
Although this mainly applied to the fashion industry, it is still worth beauty brands taking note and monitoring this trend.
According to Cross-Border Commerce Europe, a substantial portion of the marketplace Gross Merchandise Volume (GMV) could now be attributed to the C2C resale business. By 2026, it anticipated that around one-third of marketplace GMV would be attributed to the C2C resale business.
C2C marketplace Vinted was showcasing substantial growth, capturing a notable 1.94% share of the online fashion market. Other promising contenders included Taobao, Vestiaire Collective, Grailed, and Poshmark, as well as eBay and Etsy, which operate with both B2C and C2C models.
The founder of Cross Border Commerce Europe Carine Moitier concluded: “As fashion and beauty leads the online cross-border retail market, this report enhances transparency within the European online fashion and beauty sector and fosters cross-border growth across the entire industry.”
