Lowest in 5 years! August's Cosmetics Market is Cold Overall

Chaileedo Press
Sep 16, 2022
2 min read

Total retail sales of cosmetics fell by 6.4% in August, including a 6.42% year-on-year decline in import value.

On September 16, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released data on retail sales of consumer goods in January-August 2022. In August, total retail sales of consumer goods were 3,625.8 billion yuan ($517.092 billion), which grew 5.4% year-on-year. From January to August, total retail sales of consumer goods were 28,256 billion yuan ($4,029.721 billion), up 0.5% year-on-year.

In terms of cosmetics-related data, in August, the cosmetics category grew slightly compared to the previous month but was still on a downward trend compared to last year. Specifically, total retail sales of cosmetics in August reached 28.8 billion yuan ($4.107 billion), which declined 6.4% year-on-year, while total retail sales of cosmetics from January to August were 245.3 billion yuan ($34.983 billion), decreased 2.7% year-on-year.

From a vertical comparison, the total retail sales of cosmetics in August hit another five-year low, with the only negative growth in 5 years. The highest growth rate was in 2020, with a growth rate of 19%, and since then the growth rate has had a cliff-like drop.

As for customs import data, the amount and tonnage of imports fell year on year. In particular beauty cosmetics and washing&care products imported 41055.1 tons in August, basically the same as the last year, a slight decline of 0.03%. The total import value was 12.82 billion yuan ($1.828 billion), which decreased 6.42% year-on-year. 281,691.6 tons were imported from January to August, a fall of 7.3% year-on-year. The total import value reached 97.26 billion yuan ($13.871 billion), down 4.6% year on year.

The cosmetics market as a whole remained cold in August and market pressure increased. The second half of the year is still facing many uncertainties, but cosmetic companies are also working hard to boost consumer confidence and find new growth sections.

Overall, NBS claimed that in August, in the face of a complex and severe international environment and the spreading pandemic in China, extreme high-temperature weather, and other multiple tests beyond expectations, all regions and departments efficiently coordinate the prevention and control of pandemics and economic and social development, and strengthen the implementation of a stable economic policy package and successive policy measures. Currently, the national economy continued to resume its development trend, production demand has risen steadily, and employment and prices are generally stable.