The glam is wearing off for the in-store beauty retail customer experience. A new survey from experience agency ChangeUp reveals that nearly 70% of beauty shoppers feel overwhelmed when browsing brick-and-mortar beauty stores, and that friction is pushing many to skip the store altogether.
The report, titled Beyond Transactions: Navigating Beauty Retail’s New Normal, offers a reality check for beauty brands and retailers alike. Based on responses from over 1,600 U.S. beauty consumers, the study maps out diverging shopper personas and underscores one key truth: physical stores are losing their shine if they can’t adapt to the new pace and psychology of beauty shopping.
Buyers Want More Than Shelves And Salespeople
While 63% of respondents say they wish beauty stores were about more than just buying products, today’s retail experiences are often falling short. The top frustrations include out-of-stock items (47%), overcrowded stores (46%), long checkouts (40%), and poor navigation (34%). One-third even cited pressure from sales associates as a turn-off.
As fast-moving beauty trends and TikTok influencers drive discovery, physical stores are struggling to keep up. Almost half of all shoppers believe beauty trends shift too quickly for retail environments to respond. With 59% actively hunting for “dupes” — lower-cost alternatives to premium products — the demand for speed, value, and transparency is higher than ever.
Social Media Is The New Front Door
TikTok and influencer content now guide the majority of buying decisions. Among Gen Z and Millennials, 70% are purchasing directly through social platforms and affiliate links. This means the in-store experience is no longer the first, or even second, touchpoint for many beauty customers.
The report segmentation identifies two dominant consumer mindsets:
- Glow-Getters are affluent, social-first Gen Z and Millennial shoppers who treat beauty like a hobby. They’re big spenders and trend explorers, but even they admit to feeling overwhelmed in-store.
- Savvy Substitutors are more frugal and strategic, leaning heavily on mass retailers for affordability. They want efficacy, not bells and whistles, and they’re more likely to bounce if the shopping experience isn’t streamlined.
For both personas, speciality beauty stores rank highest in preference, but only if the experience delivers. That leaves mass players like Target and Walgreens with a different challenge, and that is serving the budget-conscious without sacrificing experience.
The physical beauty store can’t just be a place to transact. Whether it’s redesigning store layouts, easing decision fatigue, or integrating digital-first discovery into the in-store flow, brands need to bridge the gap between fast-moving online influence and often outdated physical retail formats.