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As growth in the $441 billion global beauty industry shows signs of cooling, beauty e-commerce continues its steady ascent. While a quarter of global beauty sales occurred online in 2024, that figure is expected to reach 31 percent by 2030, according to The State of Fashion: Beauty 2025 report, by The Business of Fashion and McKinsey & Company.
Amazon’s rise as a credible player across both mass and premium beauty is raising the bar for the wider industry — particularly for speciality retailers and department stores. However, future success in beauty will depend increasingly on convenience and the quality of the online shopping experience.
Against a backdrop of market saturation, geopolitical uncertainty and shifting consumer behaviour, Amazon Beauty is recalibrating its approach.
Under the leadership of Wendy Franks, who stepped into the role of general manager of health and beauty at Amazon US in January 2026, the company is evolving its beauty proposition from a replenishment-led model to a more discovery-driven experience — including a strong focus on categories such as cosmetics, fragrance and K-beauty.
As Gen Z and Millennials drive a disproportionate share of wellness spending — accounting for over 41 percent of the market despite representing just 36 percent of the US adult population according to McKinsey’s Future of Wellness 2025 report — online retailers must rethink their approach to the customer experience to better serve this demographic.
Many fall into what McKinsey call the “maximalist optimiser” segment, characterised by high digital adoption, extensive research habits and a willingness to experiment across discretionary categories, from health-tracking devices to beauty and mindfulness apps.
The maximalist optimiser segment itself makes up roughly 25 percent of wellness consumers but accounts for more than 40 percent of the total market spend. These consumers prioritise product quality and efficacy, often seeking science-backed solutions and expert guidance when making purchasing decisions.
For Amazon Beauty, the opportunity here is compelling. While the retailer has mastered speedy delivery — more than 1.6 billion items arrived the same or next day in the UK during Amazon’s 2025 Prime Day promotion — it is now investing in tools designed to guide consumers to the exact products they seek.
Its AI-powered assistant, Rufus, helps users navigate Amazon’s extensive product selection based on specific needs. Meanwhile, immersive product pages aim to replicate elements of in-store discovery online, while a streamlined checkout process reduces friction at the point of purchase.
Amazon is also increasingly embedding itself in the cultural moments that matter to consumers, rather than simply advertising around them. To mark “The Summer I Turned Pretty” — which drew around 70 million viewers for its final season on Prime Video — Amazon debuted a dedicated collection and storefront inspired by the show, featuring products such as Supergoop! SPF, Skylar Clean Perfume and Moroccanoil hair-care. Viewers could also purchase featured products via an “add to basket” function within the video interface, without leaving the show.
Now, BoF sits down with Franks to learn more about how Amazon Beauty is converting moments of inspiration into purchases.
How are you evolving Amazon into a more discovery-led beauty destination?
Amazon Beauty operates in a fast-paced and dynamic industry. For us, it’s about discovery and creating new ways for customers to explore everything that we have to offer. It’s no longer just about the transaction. We are intentional about building shopping experiences that help customers learn about our selection, discover new brands or new offerings from familiar ones and ideally find their next favourite product.
This spring we introduced a refreshed “New in Beauty” storefront that spotlights thousands of beauty and wellness products that have debuted over the past year. The pace of innovation in the space has been remarkable, and we love seeing the creativity of our brand partners. Our aim is to make it easier for customers to identify what’s new and relevant.
Then we have our category shopping events, which were created with discovery in mind. The Summer Beauty Event, now in its fourth year, is happening now and features thousands of offers designed to keep customers engaged with new and trending products, while also introducing new audiences to our wide selection. The event includes exclusive launches and gift sets not available elsewhere, such as a Mother’s Day PDRN-themed set from Medicube, a Milk Makeup mini must-haves set, and an anti-humidity hair care duo from Amika.
How is Amazon Beauty supporting beauty brands in building visibility and engagement across the customer journey?
We recognise that each brand has a unique voice and identity, and we aim to use Amazon’s strengths to amplify and enhance each one for new audiences. We offer support programmes tailored to brands based on their size and category, and we seek to match them with the resources and programmes best suited to their success.
Some examples of this include bespoke on-site and off-site marketing levers and traffic drivers, creator engagement and access to shopping events, like the Summer Beauty Event and Prime Day. It fundamentally comes down to talking with the brands, figuring out what their immediate and longer-term needs are — and then understanding how we can best collaborate. We are also uniquely positioned to offer direct access to our ad division, helping brands reach customers at the awareness and consideration stage, before the point of purchase.
It’s about making sure we’re listening to our brands, building trust and nurturing collaborations that last many years.
In addition, we have made it a priority to invest in immersive brand storefronts, detailed product pages, educational content and tech innovation that is designed with the brand in mind. For example, with Charlotte Tilbury, we created interactive “Shop the Look” videos with direct product links that bring the brand’s tutorials to life. And with Clinique, we created a skincare analysis tool, an interactive questionnaire that allows customers to custom-fit a skincare regimen with Clinique products available for purchase in Amazon Premium Beauty.
In what ways is Amazon bridging the gap between digital browsing and the physical experience?
Amazon is not necessarily trying to replicate what customers see in store. Instead, we are trying to augment and complement it by offering a new type of personalised experience that supports how and where they are already shopping.
To support customers looking for consultations, we created SkinCare+, which combines two existing Amazon offerings: a selection of trusted skincare products recommended by dermatologists and Amazon One Medical’s pay-per-visit virtual visit for acne, anti-ageing and eczema, including prescriptions when clinically available.
When it comes to testing products, we have invested in virtual try-on technology for makeup to help customers find the shade that is best suited for them. Customers can experience Virtual Try-On across the Amazon Beauty store.
Beauty is inherently visual. Educational formats like Amazon Live streams and creative content can help bring products to life and create that immersive experience. Customers can engage directly with hosts on Amazon Live, see how they use the product and then buy it with a single click without leaving the stream. It is somewhat similar to the effect of an in-store beauty counter experience, but with the added convenience of digital.
How are AI tools improving product discovery and personalisation for beauty customers on Amazon?
What we’re trying to do is help customers reduce the time they spend researching before making a purchase by bringing together the key information they need to feel comfortable.
I like to think of AI as a useful assistant that can help you discover the products that are most relevant for you and your family. We have made incredible strides with AI — especially with our Amazon AI shopping assistant Rufus — to help customers get more informed recommendations, whether individual recommendations or recommendations for regimens. We’re always working to make Rufus the most knowledgeable AI-powered shopping assistant.
We recognise that each brand has a unique voice and identity, and we aim to use Amazon’s strengths to amplify and enhance each one for new audiences.
We also have AI-powered buying guides within our US app and mobile website, which span hundreds of products across our broader Amazon store and include skincare items like face wash, serum and moisturiser.
How are you evolving Amazon Beauty’s relationship with premium brands to position the retailer as a credible space for this segment?
Brands are rightfully protective of their customer experience and brand identity. It’s about making sure we’re listening to our brands, building trust and nurturing collaborations that last many years — with particular emphasis on figuring out the right way to bring them to life.
One of the key areas we are focused on is product safety and authenticity. This is important, particularly for premium beauty — and we’ve built even more safeguards, including a “premium sourced” badge, which indicates these products are coming from the brand itself or an authorised seller.
We are proud to collaborate with a growing number of prestige beauty brands. Over the last year alone, we’ve launched several recognised brands, including Bobbi Brown, Tarte, Milk Makeup and Laura Mercier — a focus that has not slowed.
One growth category we are particularly excited about is fragrance, and this month, we launched Rabanne in Amazon Premium Beauty. We view this as validation of the truly collaborative and trustworthy experience that we’ve built with brands and our growing momentum in fine fragrance. It is a testament to how the system works and to that premium element.
What does a ‘premium’ experience look like on Amazon today?
It is all about offering an elevated, boutique-like experience that customers expect from prestige brands. This means beautifully designed, thoughtfully curated storefronts that tell the brand story. It involves product detail pages that highlight the benefits, ingredients and formulations — everything that the customer needs and desires.
We have curated premium assortments which make it easy for customers to shop what’s new and personalised discovery tools that help them find products tailored to their specific needs. It’s important to provide relevant recommendations which we do through several different ways — rich content like tutorial videos, ingredient deep-dives and expert tips, and importantly, verified reviews and ratings that shoppers might not get in a more traditional retail experience.
Premium shoppers also expect convenience without compromise, so we are enhancing the seamless shopping experience. We offer fast, free delivery for Prime members and have recently introduced one-hour and three-hour shipping options in select cities for even faster fulfilment.
What should the beauty industry expect to see from Amazon over the next few years?
Broadly, the industry has seen the convergence of beauty, health and wellness categories. These categories have become so wholly interconnected. We’re excited and proud of how we met the shift so far but we see tremendous opportunity ahead, both in terms of the products we offer and the way in which we bring them to customers.
Amazon customers don’t see rigid boundaries between product categories, and we are trying to develop experiences that help them shop for holistic solutions for their needs — even if they span multiple categories.
We are mobilising around smarter navigation: for instance, somebody who is focused on hydration could explore serums, supplements, electrolytes and treatments all in one cohesive journey. We are also investing in educational content that connects the dots more easily for customers.
My vision for Amazon Health and Beauty is that it should be a place where people can meet all their needs, and be inspired by new products and regimens. We want to be able to serve them in the most seamless, convenient and delightful way possible.
This is a sponsored feature paid for by Amazon Beauty as part of a BoF partnership.
