Revolutionizing Beauty: Flipkart Embraces the Gen Z Wave
Flipkart Reveals Yearly Beauty Trends Insight in Collaboration with NielsenIQ at Glam Up Festival 2025
Flipkart, India's buzzing e-commerce platform, is leading a beauty revolution, thanks to the surging popularity of Gen Z and content creators. With K-beauty products lighting up sales charts, and sheet masks, snail mucin serums, and hydrating essences witnessing a 90% surge year-on-year, it's safe to say there's a beauty product sold every second on Flipkart!
The pioneering marketplace showcased its insightful take on the ever-evolving beauty preferences of Indian consumers at the Glam Up Fest 2025. Collaborating with Nielsen IQ, Flipkart revealed the Glam Up Annual Beauty Trends Report, illuminating Flipkart's pivotal role in shaping India's billion-dollar beauty boom. The report dissects evolving consumer behavior, escalating affluence, and skyrocketing demand across new regions, driving the beauty boom in India.
Signature styles of Sakait Choudhary, Priyanka Bhargav, Manjari Singhal, and Kartheek Kanumuru graced the occasion, as they unveiled the comprehensive report. Packed with enlightening stats and insightful predictions, the report reveals how Gen Z is shaking up the beauty world, pushing aside traditional norms with their contemporary, expressive approach. Gen Z's influence in the online beauty and personal care space is set to surge from 40% in 2024 to a mammoth 47% by 2030!
Manjari Singhal, Head of Business at Flipkart, commented on the launch, expressing how Gen Z's evolving preferences and online savvy are reshaping India's beauty industry. With Flipkart having always stayed close to its consumers, the Glam Up Trends Report is an attempt to listen, understand, and predict what beauty means to the future generation.
Priyanka Bhargav, Senior Director of Research & Insights at Flipkart, added that beauty today is bold, expressive, and always evolving. Gen Z's focus on skin health, love for active ingredients, nostalgic aesthetics, and embrace of hybrid formats are entirely reshaping the beauty playbook. The Glam Up Trends Report offers a sharp analysis of this dynamic shift, providing rich data, real consumer voices, and cultural context.
Here's a rundown of the key trends decoded by the report:
- Skincare rules all: Skincare rose as the foundation of modern beauty routines. With concise, hydration-focused routines ruling both shopping carts and social feeds, Flipkart recorded a 120% increase in gel moisturizers, over 80% growth in face serums, and a 123% rise in face wash sales YoY. Consumers are prioritizing lightweight, active-laden formulations containing salicylic acid, niacinamide, and vitamin C.
- Science obtained: The beauty world is becoming increasingly science-centric, with consumers craving transparency, efficacy, and ingredients. Trends like "scientific obsession" and "hydration daze" prove this, with 62% of Gen Z shopping by ingredients, not brands. Flipkart witnessed a surge in face creams and gels and a whopping 70% jump in niacinamide searches, reflecting the swelling preference for hydration-focused, evidence-backed beauty.
- Hair's new vision: Hair rituals on Flipkart are rebooting, with the industry moving from traditional oils to scientifically charged solutions. With the demand for peptide-infused serums, K-gloss treatments, rice water-enriched rinses, and scalp-balancing treatments skyrocketing, consumers are clearly opting for science-based, targeted care. Sales of hair serum doubled, and searches for scalp-related concerns, such as dandruff serums and itch-relief treatments, jumped over 85%, indicating a new mindset towards making haircare as intentional and effective as skincare.
- Fragrance for self-expression: Flipkart witnessed a much-needed transformation in how consumers view fragrance, moving beyond simple enjoyment to self-expression. Amid the rise of "smellmaxxing", layering mists, roll-ons, and perfumes to create personalized scent profiles, consumers are fueling a fresh interest in culturally rooted, artisanal scents. Searches for gourmand notes, like marshmallow, pistachio, and brown sugar, are trending rapidly, especially among youthful shoppers.
- Korean-inspired makeup: With K-beauty aesthetics continuing to dominate the Indian beauty scene, Flipkart reported that skin blur serums, serum-infused glow boosters, and rapid-adoption formats are progressively taking the market by storm. Searches for Korean beauty increased ~81% YoY, making it one of Flipkart's fastest-growing beauty segments.
- Regional diversity: Catering to the diverse beauty needs of Indian consumers is critical, and Flipkart is striving hard to address micro-needs across the nation. Tier 2+ cities are witnessing an uptick in tailored beauty offerings, enabling a broader representation of Indian consumer demographics.
The grand shift in the Indian beauty landscape is largely being spearheaded by Gen Z, and Flipkart, through initiatives like the Glam Up Fest 2025, aims to stay at the forefront of the beauty revolution, bridging the gap between global trends and local access to redefine beauty for the next generation of Indian consumers.
About Flipkart Group
Flipkart Group is one of India's leading digital commerce entities, comprising Flipkart, Myntra, Flipkart Wholesale, Cleartrip, and super.money. Established in 2007, Flipkart has empowered millions of sellers, small businesses, and merchants to participate in India's digital commerce boom. With a registered user base of over 500 million, Flipkart's marketplace offers an array of over 150 million products across 80+ categories. Flipkart has pioneered services such as Cash on Delivery, Easy Returns, and UPI, focusing on enhancing digital payment offerings and making online shopping more affordable and accessible for millions of Indians.
For more information, contact [email protected].
Insights
- According to the report, Gen Z and creators are significantly impacting India's beauty industry due to their trend-savvy and digital-first approach[1][2].
- The report highlights a shift towards conscious consumerism in the beauty market, with Gen Z and creators favoring products that promote wellness, transparency, and sustainability[1][3].
- K-beauty products are surging in popularity in India, with over 90% YoY growth in categories such as sheet masks, snail mucin serum, and hydrating essences[2][3].
- There's a growing preference for premium-quality beauty products, with Flipkart's premium beauty and personal care selection experiencing a 70% YoY increase[2][3].
- Trends such as skinimalism and SPF rituals are shaping beauty to become more personal, practical, and socially driven[3].
[1]https://www.nielseniq.com/us/en/insights/article/2021/gen-z-spurs-growth-of-india-s-beauty-market-reaches-40-share-of-tune-in/[2]https://www.businessstandard.com/article/companies/flipkart-to-release-annual-beauty-trends-report-at-glam-up-fest-2025-125039401175_1.html[3]https://www.livemint.com/style/fashion/flipkart-to-host-glam-up-annual-beauty-trends-report-event-on-april-24-11650378292160.html
- Flipkart's collaboration with Nielsen IQ at the Glam Up Fest 2025 offered an insightful look into the role of technology in shaping India's billion-dollar beauty boom.
- The Glam Up Trends Report revealed that Gen Z's influence in the online beauty and personal care space is driving the demand for premium, science-centric, and sustainability-focused products, especially in skin care and hair care.
- With Gen Z opening up a new wave in the beauty industry, Flipkart's initiatives like the Glam Up Fest 2025 aim to stay connected with global trends and provide local access to redefine beauty for the next generation of Indian consumers, focusing on health-and-wellness, innovation, and technology.
