# Startups
How to Start Online Shop for Cosmetics Retail: Key Steps
Red Rocket teamOct 22, 20245 min read
In This Article
Step 1. Analyze the Target Audience Step 2. Choose Which Model Beauty Supply Store is Right for You Step 3. Decide on Cosmetic Products Step 4. Create a Business Plan Step 5. Officially Register the Company Step 6. Build a Quality Website Step 7. Use Relevant SEO Techniques Step 8. Focus on SMM Step 9. Increase Brand Recognition Step 10. Train Your TeamDo you know that e-commerce is one of the most promising and fastest-growing areas of business today? Especially if we are talking about cosmetic supply stores. Let's take a closer look at what the numbers tell us about this kind of business. Today, the market size of cosmetic products worldwide has reached the mark of 14 billion dollars. Surprisingly, in just 5 years, this amount will increase to 22 billion. Experts predict such market growth trends due to various factors, including the number of offers, stores, customers, and current trends.
Another factor why this market continues to grow is the modern approach to beauty. What we mean by this is that today cosmetic products are not only used by women but also by men. To look perfect in 2024 is characteristic for any person, so the demand for beauty products is always going up. We have already mentioned enough reasons why you should become a part of this industry and make money. Want to know how to start a cosmetic business online? We are here to give you a detailed guide to open beauty supply store.
Another factor why this market continues to grow is the modern approach to beauty. What we mean by this is that today cosmetic products are not only used by women but also by men. To look perfect in 2024 is characteristic for any person, so the demand for beauty products is always going up. We have already mentioned enough reasons why you should become a part of this industry and make money. Want to know how to start a cosmetic business online? We are here to give you a detailed guide to open beauty supply store.
10 Steps to Start Your Own Online Shop for Cosmetics Retail
Starting your own business selling cosmetic and beauty products is a complex approach that requires consistent tasks. Just creating a website will not be enough to get lots of orders from customers and be successful in this industry. We have for you 10 steps that will help you open beauty supply store.
Step 1. Analyze the Target Audience
Obviously, building any business starts with a deep analysis and understanding of both your ideas and your potential customers. Your goal is to understand and define what your possible customers look like. This will help you better understand what your customers want to see and what marketing strategies to implement in the near future. What's the way to do this?
So, the first way is through surveys and questionnaires. You should get as many answers as possible from people about whether they use beauty products, how often they buy them, how old they are, whether they are male or female, and more.
Next, be sure to pick a few competitors who are successful in the industry. Study their advertising, website, app, and even social media. Gather as much information as you can to help you build a portrait of your potential customer. This is a virtual image of your buyer, a generalized profile of your audience that has a gender, age, location, marital status, income level, hobbies, and so on. Speaking about a cosmetics store, the target audience will have a female gender and age of 18-40 years old, but everything depends on the specific case.
Step 2. Choose Which Model Beauty Supply Store is Right for You
One of the main steps is to choose a model beauty supply store. In other words, you have to choose the business model that you are going to work with. To do this, we must briefly tell you about the models that exist in the beauty industry.
- Own production. This is the most common business model for beauty products in online stores. In this case, you have to develop the product yourself and sell it on your platforms. For example, the brand Loccitane which manufactures and sells products.
- Dropshipping. This business model will suit those entrepreneurs who have a limited budget. You do not need to purchase goods and store them in a warehouse. Your main task is to find buyers, and the manufacturer itself will send the goods. You receive a commission as a reward for the client.
- Wholesale. Wholesale cosmetics as a business model requires a lot of effort, knowledge and of course investment. You will have to buy warehouses where you can store and manage your stock of cosmetics.
- White label. According to this model, you work with business clients. You produce goods without putting your brand image and sell them to other retailers. They will sell your products under the guise of their brand.
The choice of the final model depends on your desires, goals and skills. The optimal option is when you have your own production and sell to physical buyers on your own.
Step 3. Decide on Cosmetic Products
Choosing your line of products is one of the most crucial decisions that a person can make when considering starting an online cosmetics retail business. The market and competition for cosmetics must be studied and analyzed before identifying which products are most likely to be sold online. Take into account such things as trends in ingredients, formulas, colors, and brands preferred by your target audience. This means that competition evaluation will enable you to identify product opportunities that have not been exploited. For instance, if natural or organic makeup is trending but has a small presence, you may want to establish a niche there. Or offer specialized products that are not easily available in the market.
Of course, many buyers nowadays also value aspects such as ingredients, safety, and ethical issues regarding food sourcing. Thus, be ready to scrutinize suppliers carefully and provide detailed information about the product. Ideally, a business should offer its products at different prices to cater to all classes of people.
Step 4. Create a Business Plan
Many beginning entrepreneurs underestimate a business plan, ignoring this important element. However, it can help you both to attract new investors and to better understand the concept of your business. What should a beauty shop business plan usually contain?
- (01)Write down the operational model, products and services to be offered, marketing strategy, funding, and growth strategy.
- (02)Offer an income statement showing estimated initial investments and anticipated revenues and profits for the next few years.
- (03)The budget on costs may include web hosting, design, photography, raw material, and shipping, among others.
- (04)Explain who you’re going to target and how you will reach out to them via social media, SEO, email, and influencer marketing.
Discuss possible legal concerns that may arise when selling cosmetics online. Having to write this plan you make sure to look at everything you envision for your company to see where problems may be and what solutions you have before launching.
Step 5. Officially Register the Company
The next major action is to incorporate your business through the legal systems of your country. Select a business name that has not been trademarked and then register the business name. Next, decide on your business formation – many online retail shops incorporate their businesses as an LLC or S-Corp for legal and taxation purposes.
Do you need a license to sell cosmetics online? Generally, you must have a license to sell cosmetic products because these products come in contact with the human body and can cause allergies. Get all needed business licenses and tax identification numbers if needed in your country. Depending on your specific type of cosmetic product and business model, you may also require other types of licenses to operate a cosmetic business. Ensure that you make copies of all the documents during the registration process and keep a record of them.
Step 6. Build a Quality Website
The most popular option in the world for selling cosmetics today is of course a website. All famous beauty supply stores have their own website, which accounts for the majority of sales. As you already understand, your e-commerce platform is the face and heart of your online cosmetics shop. Spend time and money to make the website look attractive and ensure user-friendly navigation. Ensure that you are using a high-quality web hosting plan specifically designed for e-commerce websites and put in place security measures such as SSL encryption.
Determine which e-commerce platform best suits your requirements and pricing plan: Shopify, Wix, Squarespace, etc. Set up your store sidebar, products, cart, and checkout, including your payment gateway through the platform. Upload proper, high-resolution images of the products, write good descriptions for each cosmetic and body product, and create a proper website layout. Don't forget that an attractive and innovative website design will help you attract more customers and keep them on the site longer. How to achieve this? Learn the most popular UI/UX trends in 2024 and implement them into your platform design.
Step 7. Use Relevant SEO Techniques
Have you created an e-commerce site to sell beauty products online? That's good, but it's not enough to grow in this industry. Your platform requires constant improvement and the only way to achieve this is by adhering to all the SEO techniques that Google search engine values. In simple words, this will help your website become authoritative in the eyes of the search engine, get more organic traffic and rank better. What techniques for SEO promotion of a cosmetics website are relevant today?
- (01)Select and implement relevant keywords in your content that may be of interest to your target audience.
- (02)Create a blog and regularly fill it with quality and useful content for your readers.
- (03)A few years ago, Google officially announced the requirement to implement website optimization for mobile devices. Platforms that fail to do so will be denied top spots in the search engine rankings.
- (04)Check how fast your website pages load. If this value is more than three seconds, you should speed up the loading of the site using different ways.
Certainly, comprehensive SEO encompasses more techniques and tactics to promote a website on the internet. Use at least the most important ones to attract more customers in the search engine.
Step 8. Focus on SMM
Besides a website, you should create pages on popular social media platforms where your target audience is located. Since cosmetics are heavily reliant on visuals, it makes sense to market them on sites like Instagram and Facebook. Create professional and friendly business accounts on all popular social media platforms with attractive images of your merchandise. Share informative or engaging content, such as beauty tips or new makeup products. This captures the interest of prospective consumers and creates brand familiarity.
Place relevant ads on social media platforms to promote your products, sales, etc. Partner with social media influencers who are in touch with the people in your target niche and offer them free products in exchange for a review or paid posts.
Step 9. Increase Brand Recognition
Most women can guess the name of a company just by looking at the logos. This indicates an ideal level of brand recognition, and you should strive for it. However, as a new business, establishing brand awareness in the cosmetics industry is a difficult task. First, consider paying for better-calibrated screen images, such as product images, graphics, and videos that reflect your brand identity. The use of professional and consistent branding gives the impression of a competent business.
It's time to talk about outdoor advertising and why it's so important. Even though you are going to sell cosmetic products exclusively online, it is important that as many people as possible get to know about your company. A great way is to place colorful banners with tempting offers right on busy streets.
Step 10. Train Your Team
If you come into this industry with huge ambitions and plans for the future, you will definitely have to assemble a team. The classic scheme for a small online cosmetics store is an owner, a marketer, and a sales manager. As your company grows, you should hire new employees and train them. Generally, the training and development of employees is an important process, especially for the e-commerce industry.
Ensuring high levels of customer satisfaction greatly enhances the sales and recommendations of cosmetics sold online. Spend time and money educating your support personnel about your products, questions you often receive, order concerns and problems, returns policy, and inventory. Implement industry standards such as fast response time, appropriate attention to the customer, and reasonable resolution of issues. Invest in additional training for your employees to increase efficiency levels.
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Final thoughts
Surely, you will have to spend a lot of time, resources and effort to launch your own online store selling beauty products. However, it is definitely worth it as you get unlimited potential. When you enter the domestic market of a country and experience success, it can be a sign for you that it is worth pushing the boundaries. Try going international and selling your products anywhere on the planet with a multilingual website, app, and social media.
If you do it right, a cosmetic supply store can be a significant source of income for you. Most importantly, spend much time on marketing, brand promotion, and awareness. Also, regularly maintain and promote the website to reach more of your target audience who are interested in cosmetics.
Frequently asked questions
Which model beauty supply store is better to choose?
There are several business models that cosmetic and beauty products company owners can choose from today. The most popular ones are dropshipping, in-house production, wholesale and white label. For aspiring entrepreneurs, the question of choosing the right business model is a daunting task. First of all, you must understand how you want to work and what you are good at. For example, if you are good at sales, marketing and know how to attract customers, perhaps you should focus solely on sales. If you want to develop something unique and of high quality, a business model of your own production will suit you. For beginners, dropshipping is the best option because of its low costs and lack of inventory management.
How much money do I need to create a website to sell beauty products?
The price of creating and maintaining a website to sell beauty products is a question that no one can answer immediately. To do so, you need to take into account many factors that determine the final cost of the website. In general, an e-commerce platform can cost several thousand dollars.
What is the best choice for a cosmetic supply store - a website or a mobile app?
Generally, popular companies selling beauty products have both a website and a mobile app. Comparing these two options, we can say that the mobile app is more convenient to use for customers. On the other hand, creating a mobile app is much more expensive than a website. If you don't have a large customer base yet and have only recently entered the cosmetics market, you should focus on promoting a website first.
