In addition to the fragmentation caused by the influx of online beauty and personal care shoppers, the wave of department store closures caused 22% of all department store beauty and personal care dollars to leak towards other channels–and not just online. While online captured the largest portion of these dollars, grocery, drug and some mass outlets were able to capture sales as shoppers experimented with mass beauty brands and attempted to meet needs in a one-stop-shop.

With a diverse array of new shoppers comes a diverse array of new shopping habits and consumer preferences. Retailers must identify who their new shoppers are, where they’re coming from, and need to cater to their needs if they want to maintain their new customer base.