For cosmetics companies, the fourth quarter has started with a strong opening. According to the data on total retail sales of consumer goods in the national economy released recently by the National Bureau of Statistics, the retail sales of cosmetics in the first 10 months of this year reached 308.7 billion yuan, an increase of 6.6% year-on-year. However, if we look at just October, the retail sales of cosmetics amounted to 31.77 billion yuan, a significant increase of 18.7% year-on-year. This data reversed the trend of declining retail sales in the cosmetics category, which had been falling for 11 consecutive months.

Previously, reporters interviewed multiple industry insiders who revealed that the overall situation in the cosmetics industry this year has been lackluster. However, the data for the past month has set a new high in recent years. Upon reviewing the retail sales data of cosmetics for recent years, it was found that while there was a decline in sales in a certain year, the trend has been growing in other years. Excluding that year, the retail sales of cosmetics in the month for the past five years have all exceeded 10 billion yuan. The data for this month not only surpassed 10 billion yuan but also marked the highest growth rate in the past three years.

For the significant increase in monthly sales data, several beauty industry professionals expressed that it was not unexpected, as the sales volume of cosmetics in each month is generally higher throughout the year. The "Double 11" promotion remains a crucial avenue for major brands to seek growth, with merchants preparing for pre-sales to boost performance in advance. Therefore, the surge in this month's sales is also related to the "Double 11" promotion. Compared to previous years, this year's "Double 11" event started the earliest and spanned the longest, lasting from early November to mid-November.

According to data from Star Map, the personal care and beauty category saw a year-on-year growth of .% this year during the "Double" shopping festival. As a key platform for beauty e-commerce sales, Tmall data shows that during the entire "Double" period, there were beauty brands with sales exceeding one billion yuan, with brands like La Mer, Helena Rubinstein, and others experiencing over % year-on-year growth; domestic brands such as珀莱雅and双妹saw nearly % growth; emerging brands like绽媄娅and瑷科缦grew by over %; and润培and珀芙研saw growth exceeding %. Another e-commerce platform, Douyin, reported that after the "Double" promotion began, as of a certain date, the overall transaction volume in the beauty industry increased by approximately % year-on-year.

From the current data, the "Double" promotion has boosted the monthly retail sales of cosmetics. However, many industry insiders also express certain concerns: despite the good performance of monthly cosmetics retail sales and Double data, the overall market still faces severe challenges. According to data previously released by the National Bureau of Statistics, the retail sales of cosmetics in the month of the year reached 100 million yuan, an increase of 10.0% year-on-year. This was the highest single-month growth in the first five months. However, after the month, the growth stalled, with a year-on-year decline of 10.0%. Starting from the month, the retail sales of cosmetics have been declining for consecutive months. Comparing the situation in the months of this year, the retail sales of cosmetics in the month may just be a flash in the pan.

Industry insiders believe that the short-term rebound may not necessarily translate into long-term growth, and the sustainability of sales growth for enterprises in the future remains uncertain.