Can you believe it’s just been five years since ZALORA set up in Singapore? They claim to be the fastest growing online fashion retailer in Asia — and it’s true. The site just keeps adding brands to their ever-growing lineup and now they have beauty too.

Questions answered by: Tito Costa, Chief Marketing Officer, ZALORA

When did the beauty webstore open?

We first explored selling beauty products as a secondary category though the partnership with Sephora in 2014. As the category continues to grow strongly, we are now working directly with beauty brands, including top brands like L’Oreal, Shiseido and Sigma.

How many beauty brands does the store have?

The beauty category has enjoyed a 57% growth year-on-year across the region. In Singapore alone, we are currently offering more than 100 beauty brands for our customers.

Exclusive beauty brands or items to the webstore?

We are currently having a strong partnership with a few top brands like Kailijumei, and Skin Inc, in which customers can enjoy customised products exclusively on ZALORA. Additionally, we also work with brands like Laneige, Sulwhasoo, Talika, etc for their seasonal exclusive items throughout the year. As Korean fashion and beauty are also in trend, we have worked with brands like Acwell and Devonie where we provide customers the latest Korean beauty products.

Trends in beauty buying habits from your customers?

We have noticed that there are some clear differences in consumer’s behaviours between categories on ZALORA. For example, for beauty, the best-selling day within the week for us is Thursday, while for fashion, people tend to shop the most on Sunday. Another example is with lipstick shades. While offline customers are more open to trying darker shades of lipstick, online customers buy the nudes.

What will be the next big thing in beauty?

Chrome powder nails will be coming back with the metallic trend for 2017. Besides that, skincare devices to help you achieve perfect skin (eg. Skin Optimizer by Skin Inc) will also continue to grow. Last but not least, following up from last year’s trend, holographic lips will become big this year.