Research and Markets: Retailing Beauty Products Online - familiar brands will disappear from town centers as a growing number of retailers close shops and trade solely on websites.

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Research and Markets(http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/5e59f3/retailing_beauty_p) has announced the addition of the "Retailing Beauty Products Online" report to their offering.

By 2020, 40% of the global population is expected to be online reducing the digital divide between developed and emerging markets. The biggest growth will be in Asia Pacific. For example, China is expected to have 700 million online users compared to 280 million in the US. In UK, online retail is growing six times faster than high street sales and is forecast to hit 37bn a year by 2014, according to a retail survey. The rapid expansion is hitting high street retailers who are struggling to remain competitive with 40,000 shops closing over the past decade. Many more familiar brands will disappear from town centers as a growing number of retailers close shops and trade solely on websites.

Globally, beauty and personal care internet retailing represents only 3% of overall internet sales in 2010. The small share of beauty and personal care sold through the internet is limited by the somewhat slow uptake of e-commerce enabled retail sites by the key beauty distributors such as beauty specialists, pharmacies and drugstores and department stores. The majority of beauty products available online are through niche sites, and general retailers such as Amazon.com

The strongest growth will be seen in emerging regions, especially Asia Pacific, which is expected to grow to about the same size as Western Europe by 2014, and Latin America, which will grow to rival North America in value terms by 2014. The BRIC markets are becoming far more important for the beauty industry than ever before: BRIC countries will all be pivotal for future growth: these four countries alone will contribute over half of the total US$43 billion absolute growth in global beauty and personal care over 2010-2014.

Looking forward to 2014, the star category will continue to be skin care, which will increase its lead to become by far the biggest value category in the global beauty industry. This will be driven primarily by strong demand in Asia, and China in particular as rising disposable incomes in the region mean strong growth in premium-priced skin care, especially skin whiteners. Sets/kits, fragrances and skin care are the products with the largest share of purchases online.

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