From Head to Toe The fusion of wellness and beauty sets mass market retailers up for success in 2022
Pandemic-fueled interest in healthier living is boosting sales of self-care products, especially skin care, foot care and bath items. Layering onto that, the availability of vaccines, allowing people to return to work and social activities, is providing a muchneeded boost to the makeup segment. Retailers are ready. “The additional foot traffic from people getting vaccinations gives us a chance to show off strides we have made in our stores,” said Erik Keptner, Rite Aid’s chief merchandising and marketing officer. Rite Aid invested heavily in elevating its beauty assortment to focus on wellness and clean brands. Lauren Brindley, group vice president for beauty and personal care at Walgreens, agreed that customers are seeing the range of innovation that has been added to the drug store mix. “It is a
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great time to be in beauty.” Beauty departments look markedly different in 2022 than pre-pandemic. Skin care, for example, earned more shelf space now allocated to dermatologist-supported brands, ingestibles, products for all skin tones and formulas without harmful ingredients. “We are seeing several of the most iconic names really take to heart the need for cleaner and healthier formulations,” said Andrea Harrison, vice president of merchandising, beauty and personal care at CVS. The “better for you” message is spilling over to cosmetics. On the rise are hybrid formulas that have skin care qualities built into formulations, and more vegan formulas. A healthy “no makeup look” will continue to be in style, said Monica Arnaudo, chief merchandising officer at Ulta Beauty.
January 2022 DRUGSTORENEWS.COM
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