Beauty & pharma: multichannel, D2C and outsourcing

Beauty and pharma sectors: multichannel drives evolution

2025 confirms itself as a key year for the beauty and pharma sectors, as highlighted by the latest market analyses.

Just look around: advertising for cosmetics and nutraceutical products is everywhere, and new specialised stores keep appearing. This strong presence is no coincidence; it signals a profound market shift.

The real revolution lies in the dissolving boundaries. Physical stores, proprietary eCommerce sites and marketplaces are no longer separate worlds: today they form an integrated ecosystem that multiplies visibility and conversion opportunities.

Online multichannel strategies and the evolution of physical retail go hand in hand: customers seek fast, simple, and personalised shopping experiences, and brands respond by combining digital strategies on marketplaces and D2C with physical stores that become spaces for experience and engagement.

Thus, every interaction -online or in-store- contributes to creating value and strengthening the customer relationship.

Online Beauty & Pharma data

By the end of the year, in Italy, the B2C e-commerce market for these products is expected to grow by 6%, surpassing €62 billion, with Food & Grocery and Beauty & Pharma both seeing a 7% increase, driven by omnichannel integration and the use of innovation.

Key figures to highlight:

• Beauty: in 2024 alone, the sector recorded a 10.8% increase, exceeding €1.2 billion in turnover.

• Perfumery: up 10.2%, with consumption approaching €2.8 billion.

• Pharmacy: estimated value of €2.1 billion, with 6% growth.

Particularly noteworthy is the online Pharma segment, which in 2025 is expected to reach $450.7 million, marking a 35% increase compared to the previous year.

Beauty and Pharma in the Direct-to-Consumer era

Brands are discovering the benefits of selling directly to customers, bypassing intermediaries and distributors.

The D2C model allows full control: from the brand story to customer care management. And the results are clear.

Looking at the numbers:

• Beauty in Europe: almost half of sales (43%) will be online by 2025, much of it coming from brands that sell directly or have gone digital.

• Pharma in Italy: already today, 28.8% of the online healthcare market passes through direct channels, with growth projected at 30% per year until 2029.

How are things changing? Online pharmacies no longer just sell products: they offer immediate deliveries, in-store pickups booked online, and personalised consultations.

Brands are investing in technologies that follow the customer step by step: certified guides, expert chats, chatbot assistance, and tailored loyalty programmes.

However, there is a delicate balance to maintain. Large marketplaces like Amazon provide huge visibility for D2C brands, but selling there also means sharing space with competitors and often reducing margins. The real skill lies in leveraging these channels without losing what makes the brand unique.

Managing omnichannel in the beauty and pharma sectors: the role of outsourcing

Today, customers no longer think in separate channels. They see a product on Instagram, search for it on Google, try it in-store, buy it through an app, and maybe pick it up at a pharmacy. For them, it’s all one seamless journey, and companies must adapt.

What does this mean in practice? eCommerce must "communicate" with physical stores, the app must know what the customer has purchased online, and in-store staff must have access to their purchase history. Everything needs to work together, smoothly.

Many companies are realising that managing everything internally is complicated. That’s why they increasingly rely on specialised outsourcing partners who can coordinate:

• Warehouses

• Shipping and returns

• Customer service

• IT systems

• Tax compliance

It’s an investment that pays off: better to entrust operations to those who do it well and focus on your core business.

In 2025, the winners will be those who can use data in real time. Being present everywhere is no longer enough: you must understand what the customer wants before they ask, coordinating actions across marketplaces, stores, and direct channels.

The goal isn’t just to sell more, but to create value in every interaction. On beauty marketplaces, where everyone sells the same products, this will be what really makes the difference.

[Source]