Choosing the Right eCommerce Platform For Your Beauty Brand

Which eCommerce platform is right for your beauty brand?

Whether you’re a start-up beauty brand or an established name, prioritising eCommerce is key to unlocking your brand’s full potential.

Now is an exciting time to be part of the UK’s beauty industry. Over the last few decades, the industry has been consistently growing, fuelled partly by the rise of online beauty influencers and content creators on social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok.

According to Statista, the beauty and personal care eCommerce market is expected to generate £6.35 billion in revenue this year, rising to over £7 billion by 2028. Furthermore, the Global Beauty Sector Report 2024 found that a huge 37% of UK consumers now buy most of their cosmetics and beauty products online.

One of the most important decisions you’ll make when opening a beauty store online is choosing the right eCommerce platform. The platform you choose will shape every aspect of your online store – from how your products are displayed to the user experience you offer customers. The right platform can set your brand up for success, whilst the wrong one could hold it back.

So, with so many different platforms vying for your attention, how do you know which one is the perfect match for your brand? 

In this article, we’ll identify the best eCommerce platforms for beauty brands, breaking down the pros and cons of each and explaining what to consider before making your choice.

If you need any further help with choosing the right platform or building a high-performance store, get in touch with our team here at Create8. We are a Shopify partner and have a team of skilled web designers and developers who have helped countless beauty brands build thriving online stores.

What is the impact of eCommerce on beauty brands?

Today, beauty brands cannot reach their full potential without an online presence. An online store enables your brand to connect with customers worldwide and be open for business 24/7.

eCommerce has made the dream of opening your own beauty or cosmetics store more accessible than ever. However, this accessibility comes at a cost. Competition is now fiercer than ever, and brands must find ways to differentiate themselves if they want to stay afloat.

Online shopping has also caused a shift in consumer behaviour and expectations, which has further raised the stakes for beauty brands. Consumers expect more from brands than ever before. They are more informed and discerning, often consulting reviews, tutorials, and product demos before making a purchase decision. They want more than just a product; they want a compelling brand story, shared values, and meaningful connections with the brands they buy from.

Ultimately, eCommerce has made launching a successful beauty brand more accessible while simultaneously more demanding and complex. However, if you’re ready to embrace innovation, now is an exciting time to enter the beauty eCommerce market.

What should beauty brands consider when choosing an eCommerce platform?

Selecting an eCommerce platform isn’t a decision to take lightly. While it is possible to migrate to a different platform later down the line if you need to, it will save you time, money, and stress if you can just get it right the first time.

Let’s explore the top factors in choosing eCommerce platforms and the key questions you should ask yourself when researching which eCommerce platform is right for your beauty brand.

How easy is it to use?

If your business has a big team of web designers and developers at its disposal, then this matters a lot less – but, let’s face it, most beauty brands don’t, especially if you’re a new business. If you want to be able to make quick changes to your online store in-house without relying on a third-party developer, then you need to ensure the platform you choose is intuitive and user-friendly.

What level of customisation does it allow?

If you require a very specific design, layout, functionality, or features, then you need to ensure that the platform you choose will accommodate it and allow you to customise the look and functionality of your store with ease. If the platform lacks flexibility or does not offer easy customisation, you could find yourself wasting time and resources trying to find workarounds, and your store never quite living up to your vision.

Is it scalable?

Even if a platform meets your needs perfectly now, it’s equally important that it can scale alongside your business, adapting to its increasing demands as your brand grows and evolves. If your business outgrows the platform’s capabilities, you may begin to face issues like slow load times and crashes, which could damage your brand’s reputation. 

What costs are involved?

Make sure you’re clear on all costs involved. Remember to look beyond the subscription fee. Although many open-source platforms are free to use, they are usually more complex to manage, requiring many hours of development time, which usually costs far more than your average subscription fee. Find out whether the platform charges transaction fees and check out the cost of add-ons like themes, apps, and integrations.

Does it have all the features and functionality I require?

Make a list of must-have features for your online store, both now and in the future, and check which platforms offer them. Don’t settle for a platform that only offers the basics if you need more advanced features, or your platform could end up limiting your brand’s potential.

Can it integrate with my existing systems?

Choosing a platform that integrates seamlessly with your existing tools and systems—such as inventory management software, email marketing platforms, or payment gateways— helps with optimising eCommerce operation for beauty brands.

What features should beauty brands look for in an eCommerce platform?

For tech-savvy beauty brands, eCommerce unlocks powerful new tools and strategies to help drive business growth. 

Innovative brands are using the following essential eCommerce features for beauty brands to transform the way they engage and convert customers online.

• Product filtering – Enable customers to filter products by a variety of attributes, including shade, skin type, or skin concerns, making it easier for them to find what they’re looking for.
• Mobile optimisation – Around half of beauty purchases in the UK are made on mobile phones, so it’s crucial that your store functions flawlessly on mobile devices.
• Product bundling – Increase your average order value and improve user experience (UX) by offering product bundles tailored to your customer’s needs.
• Subscription services – Build a reliable income stream and encourage repeat purchases by offering a subscription service.
• Customer reviews – Boost trust, credibility, and conversion rates by prominently displaying genuine customer reviews across your site. 
• Social media integration – Seamlessly integrate your store with social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok to boost engagement and reach a wider audience.
• Augmented reality tools – Incorporate augmented reality tools to allow customers to test beauty products online.
• Interactive quizzes – Personalise the shopping experience by offering fun and engaging quizzes to help customers find the perfect products for their unique needs.
• Personalisation tools – Use personalisation to make the user experience more relevant and engaging.

Integrating engaging tools and features into your online store will help to improve the customer’s shopping experience and help your store stand out and gain a competitive edge in a saturated marketplace.

Which eCommerce platforms are popular with beauty brands?

There are plenty of eCommerce platforms to choose from, but you’ll need to learn more about the options available to you in order to make an informed decision. The right platform for your brand depends on several factors, including the size and scale of your business, your goals, your budget, your level of technical skill, and any specific features or functionality that you require. Let’s learn more about the key players:

Shopify

Shopify is one of the world’s most popular eCommerce platforms. It is best known for its ease of use. It offers a convenient all-in-one solution and user-friendly interface.

Pros: Easy to set up and use, even for beginners. Extensive app store, built-in SEO tools, scalable.
Cons: Monthly costs can add up, limited customisation without using advanced coding.
Best for: Beauty brands of all sizes looking for a scalable and user-friendly platform.

WooCommerce

WooCommerce is an open-source eCommerce plugin for WordPress websites.

Pros: Open-source, budget-friendly, highly customisable.
Cons: Requires technical expertise, reliance on plug-ins, hosting management.
Best for: Brands with technical resources or existing WordPress websites.

BigCommerce

A popular eCommerce platform with advanced functionality. However, it is less user-friendly than some of its competitors.

Pros: Built-in features for scaling, no transaction fees, multi-channel selling.
Cons: Limited design flexibility, complex backend.
Best for: Established brands looking for robust out-of-the-box features.

Wix

A cheap and cheerful, user-friendly platform that makes it easy to get a store up and running but has limited scalability and advanced features.

Pros: Affordable, user-friendly, easy customisation.
Cons: Limited scalability, less advanced eCommerce features.
Best for: New or small beauty brands with simple needs.

Squarespace

A visually-driven platform that prioritises aesthetics. Plenty of attractive templates to choose from, but lacks advanced eCommerce features.

Pros: Attractive design templates, good for content-rich websites, user-friendly.
Cons: Limited eCommerce functionality for larger stores.
Best for: Brands focused on storytelling or portfolio-style presentations.

Magento (Adobe Commerce)

A powerful platform that offers extensive scalability but also requires significant technical expertise and often costs a lot in development and maintenance fees.

Pros: Powerful, highly customisable, scalable, advanced SEO.
Cons: High development costs and complexity.
Best for: Large beauty brands with extensive budgets and dedicated development teams.

What makes Shopify the perfect platform for beauty brands?

Shopify is a popular eCommerce platform amongst beauty brands of all shapes and sizes. Known for its ease of use, scalability, and flexibility, Shopify offers an extensive range of exciting tools designed to help brands build memorable, high-converting shopping experiences with ease.

Shopify offers several different plans and levels of service, from its Basic plan, perfect for beauty brands that are just starting out, to Shopify Plus, its enterprise-level service for complex global businesses. Its scalable infrastructure allows the platform to grow and evolve with your business.

With over 8,000 apps in the Shopify App Store and a wide range of marketing tools, Shopify provides beauty brands with everything they need to optimise their store’s performance and not just meet but exceed their customer’s expectations.

Let’s take a look at some of Shopify’s stand-out features loved by beauty brands:

Upselling and cross-selling features

Shopify makes it easy for brands to boost their store’s average order value using upselling and cross-selling strategies. Shopify’s product bundles feature enables brands to group complementary products together to create convenient make-up or skincare kits for customers. Apps like ReCovert can also be installed to provide customers with “frequently bought together” suggestions at the checkout.

Quiz marketing

Beauty brands like Fenty Beauty use quiz marketing apps like Octane AI to personalise the customer experience and recommend products based on their answers. For example, Fenty Beauty uses a quiz to help customers identify their perfect makeup shade. The responses gathered using these quizzes can then be used to create targeted marketing campaigns.

Subscription models

Offering a beauty subscription service is convenient for the customer and helps your brand build reliable recurring revenue. Shopify apps like ReCharge can be installed to make it easy for customers to subscribe and receive their favourite beauty products regularly.

Social integration

Social media and user-generated content (UGC) play a key role in generating excitement around new beauty products, increasing brand discovery, and driving sales. Shopify makes it easy for beauty brands to integrate their social platforms and online stores for multi-channel selling. Popular Shopify-powered beauty brands like Kylie Cosmetics, Fenty Beauty, and Glossier all use social media campaigns, social commerce integration, and UGC to build a community of loyal customers, establish credibility, and boost sales. Build your store using Shopify to use apps like Yotpo to collect and display valuable social proof, like user-generated content, reviews, and product photos throughout your store and tag your beauty products on platforms like Instagram and TikTok to enable customers to shop with your brand directly from their social feeds.

Partner with Create8 to launch your beauty brand on Shopify

At Create8, we’re passionate about helping beauty brands build their online presence! As a Shopify partner, we know the platform inside out and can provide advice and guidance on the best features and apps to help your brand stand out and thrive online.

We have helped exciting beauty brands like NYK1 and Bexy Glow to set up a beauty brand online store and build a loyal and engaged customer base. Now we’d love to help you do the same!

You can see more examples of our work online, or contact us on 0161 820 9686 to find out more about how we can help you grow your beauty empire online.