3 Big Shifts That Are Totally Rewriting China’s Beauty Retail in 2025
China’s beauty retail scene is going through a glow-up of its own. Think store closures, fancy new concept shops, and an e-commerce world that’s moving from wild growth to careful execution. In 2025, brands aren’t just selling lipstick - they’re fighting for survival in the most competitive beauty market in the world.
1. Why So Many Brands Are Pulling Out
It’s not your imagination. A string of beauty heavyweights are cutting back in China: Laneige, Decorté, and Kose have reduced their store footprint. Paese and premium skincare brand Astslift? Gone from Tmall, Douyin, and Xiaohongshu.
Even the giants are trimming. Shiseido’s Effectim, Shihyo (a L’Oréal x Samsung joint venture), and Unilever’s Tatcha all closed online channels. Sidekick, another Shiseido brand, has fully exited.
But don’t call it defeat just yet. These exits are part of a bigger strategy shift. Brands are rethinking retail from the ground up, looking for models that can win long-term instead of chasing short-term growth.
2. Curated Retail Is Having a Moment
Meanwhile, other players are doubling down on physical retail - but with a twist. Forget endless store counts. The new trend is curated concept spaces that feel more like cultural experiences than shopping trips.
Take Perfumer H’s first flagship in mainland China. Instead of just selling bottles, founder Lyn Harris and her team are turning the store into a creative playground. Customers can co-create with artists, explore immersive storytelling, and keep coming back for the experience.
As China’s retail scene matures, brands know they can’t just open a shop and expect foot traffic. They need to create emotional pull, Instagrammable moments, and spaces that make people want to stay.
3. E-commerce Grows Up
E-commerce isn’t disappearing. It’s just… growing up.
According to iResearch, live-stream shopping exploded from ¥1 trillion in 2020 to ¥2.7 trillion in 2021, still grew 30%+ in 2022 and 2023, but is slowing to 19.1% in 2024 with a total market of ¥5.86 trillion. Over the next three years, expect growth to steady at 18% CAGR. Translation: the focus is shifting from raw volume to quality execution.
In beauty, the divide is clear:
Big global names score monster sales with celebrity streams. Case in point: Lancôme’s set pulled in ¥250–500 million in a single Jia Nailiang broadcast.
Local challengers like Han Shu are blowing up on Douyin with influencer-driven content and targeted seeding.
But here’s the catch: influencer fees, discounts, and customer acquisition costs are eating profits. So brands are moving into self-operated live streams. These already made up 51.8% of sales in 2023, and iResearch predicts 56.1% by 2026.
Of course, that comes with its own headaches. Many brands don’t know how to run live shows well, so agencies are still making bank by helping them perform.
And don’t forget the platforms. While Douyin and Kuaishou dominate, Xiaohongshu and WeChat Video Channels are quickly becoming the next frontiers for beauty sales.
The Bottom Line
China’s beauty retail game in 2025 is not business as usual. Some brands are pulling back. Others are reinventing retail into cultural experiences. And e-commerce is shifting from explosive growth to smarter, more sustainable models.
The winners? The brands that can adapt fast, tell a story, and make every customer touchpoint feel like more than just a transaction.
