Why is prestige beauty growing faster than mass market?

Consumers are increasingly willing to pay premium prices for perceived quality, unique formulations, and elevated brand experiences. Categories like fragrance (12% growth) and lip products (19% growth) are driving prestige gains. The "bifurcation" trend means shoppers either trade up for premium or seek value at the lowest price points—leaving the middle ground uncomfortable.

What beauty categories are growing fastest in 2024?

According to Circana's 2024 year-end report, fragrance grew 12% to become the second-largest prestige beauty category for the first time. Lip products grew 19%, making it the top-performing makeup segment. Prestige hair care grew 9% versus 3% in mass market, driven by scalp care trends and professional-grade treatments.

How should beauty Shopify stores adjust pricing strategy for the prestige vs mass split?

Beauty store owners should pick a clear lane: prestige positioning requires quality ingredients, premium packaging, strong brand story, and never discounting broadly. Mass market positioning requires volume focus, operational efficiency, value messaging, and aggressive competitive monitoring. The "masstige" middle is the most challenging position where customers question value.

Prestige Beauty 2024: 7% Growth Outpaces 3% Mass M...

The beauty industry's great divide is widening. According to Circana's 2024 year-end report, U.S. prestige beauty grew 7% to reach $33.9 billion, while mass market beauty grew only 3%.

For beauty Shopify store owners, this bifurcation has profound implications for pricing strategy. The middle ground is disappearing—you need to pick a lane.

The Numbers Behind the Beauty Bifurcation

Segment	2024 Growth	Market Size
Prestige Beauty	7%	$33.9 billion
Mass Market Beauty	3%	Larger total
Fragrance (Prestige)	12%	Fastest-growing category
Lip (Prestige)	19%	Top makeup segment

As Larissa Jensen, Circana's global beauty industry advisor, observed during 2024: "An accelerated bifurcation is emerging in the beauty industry highlighted by the continued strong growth in prestige in relation to the mass market."

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Context Matters

This 7% growth is significantly lower than prior years (+14% in 2023, +15% in 2022). The prestige market is normalizing—but still dramatically outpacing mass market growth.

What's Driving Prestige Beauty Growth in 2024?

1. Fragrance Explosion

Fragrance became the second-largest prestige category in 2024 for the first time, growing 12% in dollar sales—and the momentum continued into 2025. Key drivers:

Celebrity fragrances
Niche and artisanal brands
Gen Z fragrance adoption
Gifting category strength

2. Lip Product Renaissance

Lip products grew 19% in 2024, the fastest-growing makeup segment. The trend toward hybrid products—lip products that combine cosmetic coverage with skincare benefits—is commanding premium prices.

3. Premium Hair Care

Hair grew 9% in prestige versus just 3% in mass. Consumers are trading up in this category, seeking salon-quality products for home use.

What This Means for Your Pricing Strategy

The 7% vs. 3% gap tells a clear story: consumers are willing to pay more for perceived premium value in beauty. Research shows that even a 1% price increase can yield an 11% profit boost in the beauty industry. The top Shopify beauty stores—from Fenty Beauty's $600M to Rare Beauty's $400M—demonstrate that premium positioning with authentic brand stories commands significant market share. But "premium" requires more than just higher prices.

If You're Positioning as Prestige

You have room to command higher prices, but you must deliver:

Quality ingredients that justify the price
Premium packaging that signals value
Brand story that connects emotionally
Customer experience that matches expectations

Competitors at the prestige level are growing. If you're priced like prestige but delivering like mass, you'll lose.

If You're Positioned as Mass Market

The 3% growth isn't bad—but you're in a more competitive space with thinner margins. Your strategy should focus on:

Volume: Lower prices need higher volume to compensate
Efficiency: Reduce operational costs to protect margin
Value emphasis: Clear messaging on price-to-quality ratio
Competitive monitoring: Small price differences swing decisions at this tier

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The Danger of the Middle

The most challenging position is neither prestige nor mass—the "masstige" middle. Here's why:

Position	Consumer Perception
Prestige	"Worth the premium"
Mass	"Great value for money"
Masstige	"Not sure what I'm paying for"

If you're priced above mass but perceived below prestige, customers question the value. You need to either:

Move up: Invest in brand, quality, and experience to justify higher prices
Move down: Compete more aggressively on price with mass market

How Top Beauty Brands Navigate Pricing

Prestige Brands

Never discount broadly: Maintains price integrity
Offer value through bundles: Sets, kits, and limited editions
Strategic sampling: High-value samples instead of discounts
Loyalty rewards: Points and perks, not percent off

Mass Market Brands

Promotional pricing: Regular sales and deals
Everyday low pricing: Consistent value messaging
Multi-buy incentives: Volume discounts
Competitive price matching: Stay close to major retailers

Monitoring the Competition

Both strategies require knowing what competitors are doing. In prestige, you need to ensure your prices don't fall out of the expected range. In mass, you need to stay competitive on comparable products.

Category-Specific Insights

Skincare

Prestige skincare grew more moderately than makeup and fragrance, with dollar sales up just 2%. This category is seeing the most pressure from "dupe" culture and ingredient-focused consumers who compare actives across price points.

Pricing implication: Ingredient transparency matters. If your $50 serum has the same actives as a $15 mass option, you need strong differentiation on formulation, texture, or brand.

Makeup

The 19% growth in lip products shows consumers will pay premium for trend-forward items. Color cosmetics remain an impulse and self-expression category.

Pricing implication: New launches and trend items can command higher prices. Core products face more price pressure.

Hair Care

9% prestige growth vs. 3% mass shows strong trade-up behavior. Consumers are bringing salon-quality home.

Pricing implication: Position specialty treatments and professional-grade products at premium price points. Basic shampoo/conditioner faces mass market competition.

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Track Competitor Pricing Across Tiers

Rivalert monitors your beauty competitors' Shopify stores in real-time. See when they adjust prices, launch new products, or run promotions—so you can maintain your price position whether prestige or mass.

Strategic Questions for Your Store

Ask yourself:

Where do you compete? Are your prices and brand perception aligned with prestige (7% growth) or mass (3% growth)?
Are you in the dangerous middle? If so, which direction should you move?
Do you know competitor prices? In a bifurcating market, price position matters more than ever.
Are your categories aligned? You might be prestige in skincare but mass in tools—does your pricing reflect this?

The Bottom Line

The beauty industry's 7% prestige vs. 3% mass market split isn't a temporary trend. It reflects a fundamental consumer preference: pay more for perceived quality, or seek value at the lowest price points.

The middle is uncomfortable. Pick your position, align your pricing, and monitor competitors closely. In a bifurcating market, pricing strategy isn't just about margins—it's about survival.

Frequently Asked Questions

Prestige beauty refers to premium-priced products sold through department stores, specialty retailers like Sephora and Ulta, and high-end e-commerce. Mass market beauty includes drugstore brands sold at Walmart, Target, and CVS. In 2024, prestige beauty grew 7% to $33.9 billion while mass market grew only 3%, according to Circana.

References

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