Why Amazon Prime Days could look different for beauty this year

More than 200 million items were sold across 35 categories during last summer’s annual Amazon Prime Days sale, making it the largest two-day event in the annual sale’s 10-year history. The retail leader anticipates this year to be even bigger. 

According to Adobe, the sale could generate $23.8 billion in online spending, a 28.4% year-over-year sales jump. 

For the first time, the sale will double in length from two to four days, running from Tuesday, July 8 to Friday, July 11, with some brands offering steep discounts such as half off. This could boost Amazon’s overall sales for the week or inspire shoppers to shift their beauty-buying strategies. 

According to performance marketing firm Tinuiti, 85% of consumers surveyed will shop the Amazon sale this year, up from 68% last year. Within this set, millennials anticipate spending the most, with 37% planning to spend over $200 and 17% planning to spend over $500. Gen Z appears to be especially amped up: 62% of Gen-Z shoppers report being more excited for this sale than last year’s Prime Days, and 60% plan to spend more this year than last. 

Emily Safian-Demers, Front Row agency’s director of consumer insights, told Glossy that she anticipates record-setting sales this year, but questioned over-saturation across beauty. For example, many beauty shoppers stocked up during Amazon’s Spring Sale in March when many of the same brands — like Paula’s Choice, Biodance, Medicube, Beauty of Joseon, Revlon and R+Co — were offered at up to 40% off. 

“People [may not] feel that same pressure to purchase during Prime Day, when it comes to beauty, because there are all of these other events throughout the year,” she said. “I’m wondering if it will contribute to overall lower sales or excitement in the beauty space, specifically.” 

K-beauty brands like Medicube, Anua and COSRX will be 35% off this week, while premium skin care from Clinique, Kiehl’s and Sunday Riley, as well as hair care from ColorWow, Olaplex and Living Proof, will all ring in at 30% off. Premium fragrance will also be 30% off and includes Armani Beauty, Viktor&Rolf, Calvin Klein and more brands. Meanwhile, some buzzy brands will top out at 20% off, including Laneige, Paula’s Choice, Salt & Stone, Supergoop!, EltaMD, Sol de Janeiro, Dyson, CeraVe, Oribe, Kerastase and K18. 

Tinuiti performance marketing firm found that consumers are craving bigger discounts than last year. A little more than a third of shoppers said they need to see bigger discounts than last year before pulling the trigger on purchases. Others surveyed hope to bank holiday gifts over the sale, with 27% of Amazon Prime Day shoppers expecting to purchase gifts for Christmas and other winter holidays during the July sales event.

“Tariffs and other economic uncertainty stand to drive demand up, not down,” said Andy Taylor, Tinuiti’s vp of research. “More Prime members plan on taking part in this year’s Prime Day event than last year, with 45% of those who are coming off the sidelines saying it’s because they’re more interested in finding good deals this year.” 

Experts Glossy spoke to anticipate the highest spend happening on Tuesday with more of a diffused following days. “Budget allocations tend to be highest on Day 1 of the event, with historical data pointing to Day 1 of Prime Day events consistently delivering the highest volume of traffic,” said Joe O’Connor, senior innovation and growth director of Tinuiti. “I’m expecting Amazon will break their sales records from last year, but per-day volume on Days 2-4 [of] 2025 will be lower than the volume of activity on Day 2 [of] last year.”

Standing out means offering bigger discounts or appealing to brand value through marketing focused on value and quality, experts told Glossy. 

For example, the customer journey on Amazon has evolved, said Safian-Demers, especially around how younger shoppers value a product’s ratings and reviews. “They’re looking at what other people say more than older generations do,” Safian-Demers said. “[They’re going to the] star rating to read what people have written about this product as a factor in their purchase decision, whereas older generations are a bit more individualistic [with their purchase decisions].” 

Shoppers have also become more educated on skin-care ingredients and formulas, leading to more nuanced searches, said Safian-Demers. Amazon sold $28 billion worth of beauty products in 2024, up 16% year-over-year, partially thanks to increased skin-care sales. To wit: Skin-care sales growth on Amazon jumped 23% YoY last year. This suggests a maturing, ingredient-literate shopper who’s searching for science-backed solutions, said Safian-Demers. 

During the first five months of the year, Amazon skin-care searches for “exosomes” were up 686%, “tightening” was up 378%, “NAD” was up 739%, “GLP1” jumped 2,403%, “creatine for women” was up 668%, and “PDRN,” an ingredient in the salmon sperm trend, is up 3,407%. 

“The fact that people think of Amazon as a place to find some of these buzzier, more luxury-aligned products is really telling of both Amazon as a shopping destination and the beauty industry at large,” she said. “Skin care has seen enormous sales momentum growth, [and I anticipate] it to continue this week.”

Executive moves: 

• Erin Cerminara is the new global vp of integrated communications for Estée Lauder Companies-owned La Mer. She previously served as svp of brand marketing for Anine Bing.
  
• Fragrance juggernaut Dsm-firmenich has appointed Jonathan Simon as its new president of fine fragrance. He succeeds Jerry Vittoria who led the division since 2017 and retired on July 1.
  
• Rajat Agarwal is the new president of Henkel’s North America business. The German multinational company owns hair-care brands Schwarzkopf, got2b and Kenra, as well as soap brands Dial and Tone. He was previously the company’s corporate vp of packaging and adhesive technologies. He will replace Pernille Lind Olsen who has left the company.
  
• Peri Izzo is the new executive director of new incubation ventures for the Estée Lauder Companies. Izzo has been with ELC for more than six years, most recently as director and CEO of the conglomerate’s reverse mentorship program. 

News to know:

• President Donald Trump’s 90-day pause on the global tariffs announced April 2 is set to expire on Wednesday, July 9. Business leaders looking for clarity on final tariff rates could find resolution this week, thanks to possible announcements planned for this week by Trump. Once announced, tariffs could go back into effect on August 1.
  
• The social media-to-Target brick-and-mortar pipeline remains strong. Tone, a personal care band founded by six Twitch streamers, has entered Target after more than $1 million in DTC sales during its February launch, WWD reported. The line features under-$15 unisex body care and is run by CEO Nathaniel Weiss, formerly of Nécessaire. 
  
• Kate Moss’s skin-care line, Cosmoss, will shut down after three years in business. The company filed to liquidate the assets in late June and, according to the filing, the company owed around $3 million to its creditors.
  
• L’Oréal Paris has launched its first AI-powered beauty assistant, called Beauty Genius. The tool is currently available on the L’Oréal Paris website and offers virtual try-on, product recommendations and personal skin diagnostics, plus educational content and answers to common beauty questions. The tool is set to be offered on WhatsApp in 2026 as a partnership with Meta.
  
• Supergoop, the sunscreen company launched in 2007 and owned by Blackstone private equity group, is suing discount retailer Five Below for a sunscreen brand it alleges closely imitates its logo, packaging and product names, according to a new report by the law firm Gerben Law. The product in question, called Sugargirl, is one of many “dupe lawsuits” currently playing out in U.S. courtrooms.

Stat of the week:

Online sales of cosmetics dropped 10% during Q2 2025, according to a new survey from global consulting firm Alix Partners. The firm tracked the online ordering and delivery of goods across several categories and found double-digit, year-over-year declines in many. Cosmetics were part of a larger dip that also included office supplies and sporting goods, at 13% and 10%, respectively, while books and media, apparel and footwear, and health and medical supplies dipped only 4% YoY.  The firm credits tariffs for the sales drop. 

In the headlines:

New York sued by National Retail Federation over surveillance pricing law. Why employees are so secretive about using AI at work — and why they shouldn’t be. Brands grapple with strained cash flow amid tariffs. How Vogue could navigate potential industry headwinds as Anna Wintour — who agency execs say made ad dollars flow — brings on new edit lead. 

Listen in: 

Influencer turned brand founder Siffat “Siff” Haider joins the Glossy Beauty Podcast to discuss her strategy behind forecasting wellness trends before they hit big. Plus, Glossy’s beauty team unpacks the news of the week including Unilever’s acquisition of Dr. Squatch and Dossier’s first brick-and-mortar location. 

Need a Glossy recap? 

How Ulta Beauty is leveraging its longtime salon business to boost sales through brand partnerships. How much does the social media backlash to the Sánchez-Bezos wedding matter to brands? Why younger patients are seeking facelifts. With Dedcool, Erewhon launches its first fragrance-inspired smoothie. The Board’s April Uchitel is helping redefine executive talent strategy. How Estée Lauder-owned Aveda leveraged its hairdresser community to create, test and launch its newest hero product. Versed lands at Ulta Beauty, backed by its biggest influencer push yet.