China's Cosmetics Full-Channel Sales Reach RMB 611.41 Billion in H1 2026, Up 4.35%

In the first half of 2026, China's cosmetics full-channel transaction value reached RMB 611.41 billion, up 4.35% year-on-year. Online channel sales totaled approximately RMB 380.89 billion, an increase of 5.74%, while offline channel sales were about RMB 230.52 billion, up 2.13%. This marked the first time in several years that both online and offline channels recorded positive growth simultaneously.

Within online channels, livestream e-commerce platforms such as Douyin became the main driver of cosmetics sales, with total transaction value exceeding RMB 210 billion in the first half, representing a market share of about 57%. Douyin alone held a 53% share of the online cosmetics retail market, with sales volume exceeding RMB 200 billion. In the first half of 2026, the growth rate of transaction volume on Douyin outpaced that of transaction value. Meanwhile, average transaction prices on platforms such as Taobao, Tmall, and JD. com increased.

Offline foot traffic recovered notably. From January to June 2026, all of the approximately 9,500 large shopping malls nationwide recorded positive year-on-year foot traffic growth, with May and June seeing increases of 19.5% and 19.3% respectively. In June, average daily foot traffic reached 32,000 people per project. At the same time, the structure of offline stores continued to adjust. As of the end of June 2026, the number of cosmetics department store counters in operation nationwide was about 38,000, down 14% year-on-year, marking the seventh consecutive year of contraction since 2019. Cosmetics specialty stores in operation numbered about 128,000, a slight decline of 0.22%. Supermarkets in operation totaled about 2.454 million, up 9.00%, and convenience stores numbered about 459,000, up 5.60%. The average transaction value per cosmetics specialty store showed a recovery trend: except for January, which saw a 10.61% year-on-year decline, the remaining five months all recorded positive year-on-year growth. The high growth in February was affected by the timing of the Chinese New Year; when combining January and February, the average transaction value per store posted a modest year-on-year increase, while March and June saw growth exceeding 5%.

Online transaction value for beauty and skincare products in the first half of 2026 fell 5.40% year-on-year, and transaction volume declined 3.46%, making it the only key category to record negative growth. By subcategory, five major segments—skincare sets, lotions/creams, face masks, essential oil aromatherapy, and eye care—together declined by RMB 6.192 billion. The brand with the largest decline in facial care sets saw a drop of RMB 1.538 billion, mainly due to negative publicity at the end of 2025; the other four brands together fell by more than RMB 1 billion. Among the five brands with the largest declines in the lotion/cream category, most were domestic white-label brands, along with one international mass-market brand.

By price tier, the high-end market (above RMB 400) saw transaction value rise approximately 3.31% year-on-year in the first half of 2026, with transaction volume essentially flat. Estee Lauder's products priced above RMB 400 recorded a transaction value increase of RMB 1.08 billion, SkinCeuticals grew by RMB 970 million, and La Mer, Lancome, and Helena Rubinstein each added more than RMB 500 million. Mid-range and mass-market brands in the above-RMB-400 price tier saw their skincare product transaction value decline by a combined total of about RMB 6 billion. In the mid-range market (RMB 100 to 400), approximately 690 of the top 1,000 online brands were in negative growth, with a combined transaction value decline of about RMB 9.8 billion. In the low-end market (below RMB 100), about 620 of the top 1,000 brands were in negative growth, with a combined decline of about RMB 5 billion, most of which were white-label brands. In the first half of 2026, the number of product varieties decreased across all price tiers: the low-end skincare market lost 364,800 varieties, the mid-range market lost about 152,100, and the high-end market lost about 79,100, for a total reduction of 596,000 varieties.