The sector’s growth has led to a number of brands enhancing their beauty offerings and physical retail spaces through strategic site positionings and in-store experiences that can’t be rivalled online.
The UK health and beauty market continues to be a standout retail performer as consumers prioritise health, wellbeing and cosmetic-related spend.
Growth in health and beauty spending
In 2024, health and beauty spend was up 8% across the 100+ UK shopping centres Savills manages. This momentum has continued into 2025 as spending on pharmacy, health and beauty had its strongest growth in almost three years according to Barclaycard Spend data, rising by 10.7% in January. This has been influenced by a shift in consumer priorities, social media trends and from the availability of a wider range of beauty products.
Store expansions
The overall growth in the sector has contributed to a number of health and beauty operators expanding their store portfolios across the UK. Savills research shows in the last three years a number of fragrance brands have increased their physical presence including The Fragrance Shop, Sunnamusk and Jo Malone London.
Looking at cosmetic brands specifically, some of the names that have seen the largest growth in their store numbers (excluding concessions) over the period are KIKO Milano, Space NK, Sephora, PURESEOUL, and H-beauty.
The expansion of these brands has been seen across various parts of the UK. Sephora, for example, opened its first site outside of London last year in the Trafford Centre, reporting the third-highest opening sales of its global sites. The brand continued to expand into other shopping centres in 2024, including Eldon Square, Bullring and Bluewater. This year it has already announced a second site in Manchester in the Arndale Centre, expected to launch this summer.
The growing presence of cosmetic brands has been notable across city centres. In Glasgow, for example, NARS Cosmetics is the latest retailer to open a flagship store on Buchanan Street, its first standalone unit outside of London, joining MAC Cosmetics, Charlotte Tilbury and Space NK, which has expanded its existing store in Princes Square, alongside three new confirmed openings across the UK.
The demand for international beauty products continues to rise, particularly for Korean beauty. We have seen operators including PURSEOUL, Skin Cupid and Moida expanding their physical presences. Skin Cupid will open a UK flagship location in Soho this year, while PURESEOUL launched its first store in the North of England last year, following openings in London, Birmingham, Brighton and Oxford.
Other high street health and beauty retailers, namely Holland & Barrett and Superdrug, are also continuing plans to grow their estates in 2025, with the latter continuing to offer more in-store beauty services to enhance the physical shopping experience for consumers.
In-store experience
Alongside such store expansions, we’re seeing a number of brands enhancing their beauty divisions as well as adopting in-store experiences to further entice consumers in.
Boots launched its first ‘Boots Beauty’ concept last year featuring 250 brands and 35 beauty specialists at Battersea Power Station: offering drop-in express beauty and skincare services to consumers, following a revamp of over 170 of its beauty halls across the UK. Department stores John Lewis and Selfridges have also been revamping their beauty halls.
Such physical shopping environments, alongside experiences such as beauty consultation sessions, masterclasses and treatment services, offer a point of difference which can’t be rivalled online. They also have a positive ‘halo effect’: helping customers build lasting associations and encouraging repeat visits and purchases.
Further information
Contact Natasha Austerberry
Lucky Seven: Retail & Leisure Occupational Trends 2025
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