33 Brilliant Ways To Improve Online Beauty Store Sales

Great product photos – last-minute deals – snappy descriptions? 

Yes – but that’s just the surface.

We studied 100+ eCommerce beauty stores - people are doing super creative stuff to improve their conversions.

Here are 33 things that we can learn from them:

—

1. Welcome them – ask them about their choices

2. Make sure your first fold is amazing

3. User-generated content is gold 🙂

4. Shorten product discovery

5. Create visual product descriptions

6. Back your claims with solid proof

7. Have them try it

8. Offer help 🙂

9. Partner with experts

10. Use your TikTok

11. Set clear delivery expectations

12. Create a threshold for free shipping/gift

13. Make gifting easy

14. Talk about your brand - tell them your story

15. Show how easy it is to checkout

16. Minimize checkout distractions

17. Upsell popular routines (with a little goodie)

18. Help them compare products

19. Tease members' benefits

20. Give them an unbeatable deal

21. Create an ‘intelli’ search

22. Improve your SERP listings

23. Use YouTube smartly

24. Cross-sell - with some advice

25. Use replenishment nudges

26. Take back expired products

27. Open up a ‘special’ offer zone

28. Real pictures please 🙂

29. Optimize for mobile

30. Make it Theirs

31. Don't fake exclusivity

32. Use your emails to close the sales

33. Retarget like a champ

33 Amazing Ways To Improve Your Beauty Online Store Sales

1. Welcome them – ask for their preference 

The right welcome speaks to the pain point – and gets a micro-conversion (a smaller goal towards a larger goal).

Laura Geller’s welcome discount pop-up does the same thing with a quiz flow and the promise of a solid discount code: 

Quick Tip: You can also try these ideas for your quiz funnels as pop-ups:

✅ ‘Build a vibe’ quiz for pairing products – or coming to a decision (for example, match a fragrance with eyeliner, eyeshadow, and lipstick)

✅ ‘Match your vibe’ quiz – ask what they already wear and recommend – ask questions like “What do you already wear/use”

✅ ‘Talk to customers’ flow – ask what products they loved – their opinions of your packaging

Keep reading: 15 Brilliant (Non-Intrusive) Mobile Pop-up Examples In eCommerce

2. Make sure your first fold is amazing

The first fold is where the most drop-off happens in beauty stores:

→ Get it right: they scroll further down 🖱️

→ Get it wrong: they bounce 🙅‍♀️

Take a look at this above the fold from Dime’s product page:

The takeaways? 

✅ Get your value proposition clear (quickly)

• Show what kind of ingredients are used
• Highlight return/shipping/money-back policies
• Hint at product manufacturing practices 
• Confirm causes, your brand supports

✅ Visuals are KING 👑 

• Infographic style display within product thumbnails 
• Iconography for brand USP’s

✅ Build trust first – sell later

• Show trust badges like “National Rosacea Society Accepted”
• Live chat sticky button 
• Microcopy (note the “read reviews”)

✅ Framing is key

• One-time purchase and subscription pricing 
• Incentivizes the subscription (note the "auto-renew")
• Welcome discount on offer as well 

We Recommend Reading: 40 High-converting Health/Beauty "Product Page" Examples

3. User-generated content is gold 🙂

Social media posts. TikTok-style videos. Photos from reviews. 

All of this UGC helps cement purchase decisions as they scroll through – discover products from other ranges – and learn how to use the product they're viewing.

Check how Tree Hit leverages their social media UGC at the bottom of their homepage: 

Quick Tip: UGC is a go-to conversion tool – use it to create product videos – like a “how to use {product name} for {pain point}.”

4. Shorten product discovery 

Beauty shoppers window-shop a lot – that means: they have done their research. 

Honestly, all you need to do is lead them to the right pages.

Here's how Lush does it with need-based categories in their navigation:

Other than that, you should also consider the following to shorten product discovery on your eCommerce beauty store:

✅ Keep a section on your homepage to help resume browsing activity – like “you had your eyes on these 👀”

✅ Incorporate the latest deals or best-performing products in your hero banners – update them by seasons

Quick Tip: Add icon-sized thumbnails of the best-selling products to extend the visual appeal – which will make shoppers want to click through.

5. Create visual product descriptions

A good product description justifies your pricing – and reduces product page drop-offs. 

This is why, every eCommerce beauty store’s product descriptions should:

✅ Describe things as they are:

• People don’t get it when you say “muted” or “saturated” 
• Explain the why – like “goes for {skin tone}”
• Show the ingredients (50% of shoppers look for this)

✅ Show ‘how to use it’ – consider adding these:

• Include a video tutorial from UGC
• Photo-based tutorial using tabbed content
• An easily short, crisp, and concise description:

✅ Have an understandable tagline like

• "The perfume of desire"
• “Try living for every mood – a {product} to match every mood” 
• "It feels light on your skin" 
• "A spicy floral that tells everyone you mean business"
• “Tone up for the meeting”

✅ Highlight who the product is intended for, saying something like

• “Best for heavy sweaters” 
• “For ages over 40”  
• “Crafted for winters”
• “Tested for allergies”
• Also, show everything as visually as you can—aim for easy comprehension:

✅ Include info about the packaging:

• The durability or ease of use
• How to use/recycle the packaging
• Highlight the “social cred”
• Describe what the packaging contains

Pro Tip: Practicing inclusivity goes a long way – consider first-time buyers who are transitioning – remember this while writing your “how-to” (or, a badge to show support).

6. Back your claims with solid proof

Made a claim? Prove it to them as visually as possible.

Here’s how Living Proof shows it, with a before and after on their homepage:

Other than your homepage, you should display proof on key pages such as your category, product, and about us pages with:

✅ Data and statistics from customer surveys – ensure you provide your sources along with reviews:

✅ Ingredient information – explain how those live up to your manufacturing claims and statements:

✅ Show your positive and critical reviews in equal measures – note the average rating with “most liked positive review” and “most liked negative review”:

7. Have them try it 

Virtual try-ons may seem like an expensive affair—however, an interactive virtual try-on like the one below helps create a better value proposition:

All you need are:

• in-page navigation based on a range of use cases / pain points 
• show relevant product recommendations for the above use cases or pain points (skin tone in this case)

Quick Tip: Pair some form of UGC with the recommendations—this will help show your recommendations are on point. 

8. Offer help 🙂

Long purchase spans – confusing shades – and concerns about quality – are all concerns beauty shoppers share. 

Showing active support helps you catch drop-offs in real-time:

✅ Send a nudge through an in-website push – trigger this on inactivity: 

✅ Keep some FAQs along with an option for live chat – check how Bio True does this with a virtual chatbot:

✅ Provide updates about shipping delays – remember to update over SMS and emails as well:

Quick Tip: Consider offering customers ‘book a 1:1 video consultation’ on your chatbot/live chat – this helps move the sales along quickly – here’s one way to show it:

9. Partner with experts 

Selling beauty products online has a singular challenge: trust. 

The way out? It comes from the people themselves—tl;dr: your expert reviewers (and the buzz they build) gets the job done. 

Thus, if you want to get talked about and build a buzz, consider:

✅ Getting a feature in forums – specifically niche-based forums or platforms or marketplaces like Templatia or Allure 

✅ Invest in Reddit – act as a user – and ask questions about your own brand on popular subreddits:

✅ Notify subscribers about upcoming live streams – pick topics on common pain points like Act + Acre does:

10. Use your TikTok

eCommerce beauty founders – this one’s for you! 

No one else knows more about your brand than you – what better way to showcase your expertise than your own TikTok?

TikTok brings not only engagement but also:

→ generates brand awareness

→ helps you provide support

→ build social proof (and sales, ofc)

@jacattack runs her own beauty store – she uses her personal TikTok to open up a 1:1 channel and talk about her choices:

Need inspiration for your TikTok marketing? 

We recommend reading: TikTok eCommerce: 40 Brilliant Ideas (With Examples) For 2024

11. Set clear delivery expectations

Hey, we’ve all been there – a last-minute Christmas gift – or worried about the condition of the parcel during summers. 

Which is why, you should always provide clear information about when your products will deliver:

Quick Tip: Upsell faster shipping during hotter months or before holidays like Easter, Father's Day, etc.

12. Create a threshold for free shipping/gift

Or make it tiered with a progress bar, as Duradry does on their cart page:

The offering is simple:

✅ Add products up to $X and get free shipping

✅ Then, you add products up to $X and you qualify for a free gift of $X Value (and so on)

Doing this helps you bump up your AOV and translate into sales with more revenue. 

Quick Tip: Limit the recommendations, show only products with a 30% price difference (or show bundles). 

Also Read: eCommerce Tiered Discount: 10 Awesome Examples You'd Want To Copy

13. Make gifting easy

When we visualize the beauty shopper, we often think of a person shopping for themselves. 

However, beauty products are among the most gifted products – it only makes sense to cater to them as well.

Here's what you can consider for shoppers looking for beauty products as gifts:

✅ Upsell a VFM gift card (because the perfect gift is the gift of choice) – consider an offering such as this that acts as a magnificent bundle:

✅ Display popular gift categories on your navigation – for example ‘popular among X ages’:

Quick Tip: Consider creating  gift guide type posts/blogs before key holiday periods – repurpose through partner creators, YouTube, or relevant channels (for max reach). Make sure each post/guide leads directly your gift category pages.

You may want to read: 21 Last-Minute Mother's Day Marketing Ideas For eCommerce Stores

14. Talk about your brand - tell them your story

Beauty brands often go too deep into proving the science behind their products 🧪.

But, what good does it do to a customer who hasn't heard that much about your brand? 

The way out? Include a line about ‘you’ as a brand – here's what you need to do:

✅ Include a short section on your product pages about your backstory – what pain point do you solve (or a cause you support)

✅ Show visuals about your manufacturing processes/locations – like “sustainably made” or “made in the US”, or ‘as seen in’:

✅ Use a dynamic notification bar to show a quick statement about your brand – like your tagline (or reviews) 

15. Show how easy it is to checkout

Surprise costs are #1 when it comes to cart abandonment. 

Which is why you should add nudges like this one to incentivize the checkout:

Some other tips to improve the add-to-cart rate for your beauty store:

✅ Auto-apply any discount (if applicable) at checkout – like your welcome offer 

✅ Show BNPL payment options – and maintain clean visual UX like Clinique does:

16. Minimize checkout distractions

Once you get your beauty shoppers to the checkout page, it's critical that they don't leave midway. 

Here's how Drunk Elephant does it with a one-page checkout:

Remember, your checkout page should have:

✅ An option to edit the order

✅ Autofilled form fields

✅ Multiple payment options 

✅ Show trust badges and support options

✅ Reminder about policies 

Quick Tip: Ensure there are little to no upsells – if needed, offer smart value upgrades like faster/safer shipping or product insurance.

Keep reading: eCommerce Checkout UX: 13 Tips To Boost Conversions (+ Templates)

17. Upsell popular routines (with a little goodie)

Sure, personalization is one way to go, but putting forward a proven routine is a sure way to get your beauty store to sell more (and increase CLV):

Here’s why this works:

✅ Shows that the combination works – and there’s proof to back it up

✅ Invokes the reciprocity principle – with the promise of a free gift

✅ Opens up the brand to open a feedback loop (if the purchase goes through) – which can help create repeat customers

18. Help them compare products

Beauty products have a longer purchase span – one that involves significant to-and fro’ – a comparison chart cuts that process short.

What you should keep in mind: Remind, reassure, and rekindle—that is all a beauty shopper needs.

It should feel like they have arrived at their own decision – but, that doesn’t mean you can't try upselling (subtly). 

Here’s how you can compare products for your beauty eCommerce store to increase sales:

✅ Use the decoy effect effectively (showing higher/better options). Simply compare the outcomes/use cases. Use visual cues like “bestsellers” or “as seen in” badges on product images.

✅ Don’t compare more than four products at a time. To avoid choice paralysis, duh!

✅ Compare your own products in similar categories – this helps add weight to your recommendations (and discover products that they would’ve otherwise googled)

We Recommend Reading: 11 Secrets behind Amazon’s high-converting product comparison charts

19. Tease members' benefits

That means lower pricing – lower waiting periods – lower delivery times (and a lot more). 

You can show it in these ways:

✅ As comparative pricing on the homepage, category, and product pages – here’s how Beauty Pie does it:

✅ Displaying it within your notification bar – here’s how Danessa Myricks Beauty does it:

✅ As microcopy below your CTA – as a subtle nudge:

20. Give them an unbeatable deal

Like ‘take x items and get it for FLAT $X off’! 

Check out how Youth to the People does this with a ‘Build your Own Bundle’:

What's even cooler: this bundle can act as a:

✅ Full blown wishlist and lead magnet – add a timed nudge on inactivity or exit intent – say “save these to wishlist & we’ll keep em’ aside just for you” 

✅ A routine to recommend – set them up with a consultation – to personalize the bundle to their needs – you can follow up on emails/a medium of consent

✅ Help achieve replenishment naturally – once they purchase, you can give the option to upgrade the bundle to a subscription – do this in your post-purchase review emails 

21. Create an ‘intelli’ search

This is an area that most eCommerce beauty stores overlook – your search functionality is THE product discovery machine:

When beauty shoppers arrive at your store, they need cues – which means you should:

✅ Show suggested popular searches – show this as help text – or as drop-down search results

✅ Remember last searches – or recommend on last purchases 

✅ Show product thumbnails – and ensure product titles don’t overflow beyond the search box

✅ Highlight the search bar on mobile – if needed, make it sticky:

We recommend reading: eCommerce visual search: 9 smart optimization tips (+ 4 tools to use)

22. Improve your SERP listings

Search results are critical in the awareness and consideration stages of the customer journey – however, in 2024, it applies to the conversion stage as well.

Let’s take a look at this listing as an example – there’s a coupon on the listing and a price of $5.39:

However, on clicking through the price is $7.99 – this can immediately lead to drop-offs.

Even more so, the “OWN40” code doesn’t reflect in the first fold – which isn’t all that ideal:

However, it does apply on the checkout page – only if a user remembers to do so – which is why it’s critical you auto-apply discounts:

Key Takeaways:

✅ Enable "Business type" in GMC to show-case your business type – like “small-business” or “women-owned” – here’s more information

✅ Make sure coupon codes and prices sync on your listings and product pages – here’s how you can add coupon codes to your Google Merchant Center listings  

✅ Enable checkout on the search results itself – here’s how you can enable checkout on Google Merchant Center

✅ Use the right schemas – for example, product schema, aggregate rating schema, etc.

✅ Upload product review feeds correctly – here’s Google's official take on product reviews on Google Merchant Center

✅ Ensure product descriptions incorporate the following:

• Product size, material, shape, and pattern (include these in the product title as well)
• Intended age range
• Special features
• Technical specifications

23. Use YouTube smartly 

What already works: Getting reviewed by YouTubers opens up your brand and products to the test – and creates a buzz:

The buzz gets your products moving – but, there’s more you can do on YouTube.

The bigger news: There’s now a YouTube Affiliate program – which means you can now have YouTubers as affiliates – selling your products directly on YouTube videos/shorts:

The only catch is that YouTube is slowly onboarding sellers – here’s a link to the YouTube Affiliate seller signup form.

However, if you already have a Google Merchant account and meet the partner program guidelines, you can create a YouTube Shopping Feed.  

The benefit here is that you can partner with eligible creators or connect your own store to showcase your products in YouTube videos/shorts.

Keep Reading: Getting started with YouTube Shopping

24. Cross-sell - with some advice

You can send these through emails to existing subscribers and customers – or on your website:

✅ Cleaning advice

• Send brush cleaning methods and product recommendations (or similar advice + products) to customers who’ve already made purchases 

✅ Storage advice 

• Show how to store makeup etc. – show related products – show this to customers with a cart of more than two products (this will prompt an impulse buy)

✅ Pairing advice 

• Think “Goes perfect with” sections – consider matching by skin tone – use your UGC here effectively – make sure you display a diverse range of customers

25. Use replenishment nudges

Subscriptions work for beauty stores – as long as you frame them right:

Key Takeaways:

✅ Remind that makeup has an expiration date – talk about setting up a frequency for a subscription (with free samples)

✅ Reinforce popularity with microcopy – stand by for support 

✅ Show the cancellation policy – along with the refund/return policy 

Hey, you'll love reading: Writing Replenishment Emails That Convert

26. Take back expired products

No one knows what to do with expired or empty bottles – having a recycling program like Beautycycle adds to the brand value:

However, you can go a lot further with a recycling program if you combine it with your loyalty program:

✅ Consider adding points for every recycling made

• Create a tier to incentivize replenishment – consider throwing in a free gift or redeemable coupon on a $X sale
• Reaffirm that they’re giving back to the environment – reducing plastic waste (beauty industry waste stats)

You may want to read: Inclusive Marketing: 22 eCommerce brands that do it right

27. Open up a ‘special’ offer zone

If personalization is key, custom offers are the gateway to getting more sales:

Key takeaways:

✅ Bring attention to your deals – show them dynamically in your notification bar and your navigation 

✅ Highlight the offers on your product pages as well – along with a line about future rewards:

✅ Remind once more on checkout with a ready-to-copy code – and get the purchase confirmed:

Pro Tip: If you offer too good a deal like 3 samplers on a $21 order, customers won’t even mind the shipping cost – alternatively you can down-sell a smaller package/sampler bundle.

28. Real pictures please 🙂

Most beauty eCommerce stores tend to go overboard with product photos. 

Make sure your customers see people they can relate with – which is why it's helpful to have relatable and unedited photos such as this one:

Other than that, here’s what you should consider adding to your product display:

✅ Photos of product labels and packaging – displaying certificates and key ingredients 

✅ Diversity in models (in terms of ethnicity, shape, and gender) – if needed, use customer photos from your product reviews

✅ Show diversity in your size or measurement charts – that means body shapes, ages, and skin tones 

✅ Be careful of ageism – don't be afraid to use your own images if needed:

29. Optimize for mobile

Unless you are selling luxury beauty products, your store’s mostly going to be viewed on mobile. 

This is why it's important to consider your mobile UX – particularly product discovery – check how Bambu Earth displays its categories:

What's even more important is that you should have:

✅ A sticky header – make sure it displays not more than 3 items at a time

✅ Mobile payment options – think Venmo, Apple Pay, etc – this is to ensure that users can check out in one click:

✅ Intelligent color psychology & design hierarchy – note how the above example leads the eyes to the subscription option – by simply matching the colors on the CTA and the ‘free-shipping’ microcopy

✅ Easy ways to filter reviews – offer a search bar within reviews as well to improve your mobile UX:

30. Make it Theirs

This is extremely doable if you are a DTC brand or have control of the manufacturing process.

What's even more cooler: you can even get away with longer delivery periods or charge more.

Guerlain lets a customer customize the perfume bottle (a great example of co-creation) – that too for free:

However, you can take this up a notch by bringing in the right amount of exclusivity:

✅ 1:1 co-creation sessions to fully customize the product/routine

✅ Create a count-down period to show that the personalization will cost them – unless they get it within a certain timeframe

Quick Tip: Ensure to add in your custom returns policy for personalized products – most eCommerce brands don’t accept returns for personalized products.

31. Don't fake exclusivity

Beauty shoppers can see right through urgency triggers like these – note the “only 16 left in stock”: 

This is why we recommend personalization to create exclusivity—or, going through your sales data to create a claim such as this one:

32. Use your emails to close the sales

People love shopping on eCommerce beauty stores for the deals—and they will wait for it—only if you ask them to:

Thus, your emails are the place to not only close sales but also get them started; take a look at this welcome email:

Here are some more ideas on what you can do with emails for your beauty store to improve sales:

✅ Ask them to complete their wishlist – which is also a way of handling browse abandonment

✅ Create a secret sale – like a back-in-stock sale – or a flash sale

✅ Send early access to high spenders – remind them about loyalty points and more

Want more inspiration for your beauty eCommerce email marketing? 

Read: Beauty Brand Email Marketing: 30 Great Examples (+ Templates)

33. Retarget like a champ

Last, but not least, your retargeting efforts must continue – check how Credo Beauty sends a humorous cart abandonment retargeting ad:

Other than that, you can also use your SMS channels to send subscribers notifications about product launches, or exclusive offers that they may be missing out on:

Need more inspiration? 

Read: Brilliant eCommerce Retargeting (and Remarketing) Examples

Don’t Leave Your UX Hanging

98% of visitors who visit an eCommerce site—drop off without buying anything. 

Why: user experience issues that cause friction for visitors. 

And this is the problem Convertcart solves.

‍We have helped 500+ eCommerce stores (in the US) improve user experience—and 2X their conversions. 

Let us help: Our conversion experts can audit your site—identify UX issues, and suggest changes to improve conversions. And we won’t charge for this one.

Get a free UX audit today.