The latest Beauty & Cosmetics trend? Automated courier claims

They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder - but only if they actually get their hands on it.

As the popularity of Beauty & Cosmetics e-commerce rises, so has the number of failed deliveries with orders often turning up broken, spilled, spoiled or not even arriving at all. These failed deliveries are a major logistics headache - costing time and resources to resolve - but there is now a serum for failed delivery woes: automated courier claims.

Why Beauty & Cosmetics are embracing automated courier claims

Rise of e-commerce in the Beauty & Cosmetics sector

While some retail sectors specialise in bulky items, Beauty & Cosmetics orders are often the perfect size for the post. That's why it's no surprise that 41% of all beauty and personal care sales in the US and 37% in Europe now take place online. What's more, this figure is expected to rise with a 2026 NielsenIQ study finding beauty e-commerce growing 6x faster than physical beauty retail.

From Gen Z buying Korean skincare to Boomers ordering anti-ageing creams, the online Beauty & Cosmetics trend has been fuelled by social media. Customers no longer need to travel or visit specialised stores to find new beauty products - there's endless content on skincare routines and beauty tips on their social media feeds. So much so that social commerce accounts for 68% of global beauty sales. Combined with the likes of virtual try-on technology, Beauty & Cosmetics customers can now discover, try out and order goods from around the world without leaving their sofa.

Beauty & Cosmetics delivery challenges

Beauty & Cosmetics might be well-sized for courier delivery, but there's a wide range of other sector-specific delivery challenges facing the sector.

1. International shipping. J-Beauty and K-beauty products from Japan and Korea are currently all the rage in the western world, with K-beauty accounting for 8% of online skincare sales in the UK. But longer shipping distances lead to more opportunities for losses, delays or damages in transit.
2. Regulations. Beauty & Cosmetics products are subject to specific regulations that can have an impact on delivery, such as requiring Cosmetic Products Notification Portal (CPNP) registration in the EU before customs clearance. Having the wrong documentation or improper classification can lead to customs blockages or confiscation. In other words, late delivery or no-shows.
3. Fragility. Glass bottles smash in transit, liquids seep, powders congeal, oils lose their potency. Even with the right packaging, Beauty & Cosmetics products have a higher chance than most to arrive in a damaged state (i.e. compared to a t-shirt). In particular, skincare and cosmetics need special storage and handling, which adds further complication to delivery.

More online orders leads to more failed deliveries

It doesn't take a cosmetic chemist to work out the formula: when you increase the online sales of goods that face delivery challenges, there's going to be more failed deliveries. In the UK, for instance, 6.5% of orders encounter a delivery issue. If you send 10,000 orders per month, that's thousands of lost items and thousands in lost revenue.

But Beauty & Cosmetics also faces additional problems that make failed deliveries more likely. For example, many Beauty & Cosmetics customers want fast, next-day delivery when their every-day use products run out, putting pressure on couriers. What's more, beauty goods are one of the most common gifts during peak delivery periods, such as Valentine's Day and Christmas (30% of shoppers buy beauty and cosmetics products as Christmas gifts), and the likelihood of failed deliveries jumps 31% during peak season.

The benefits of automated courier claims for Beauty & Cosmetics

Amidst a rise in failed deliveries, automated courier claims help Beauty & Cosmetics e-commerce to:

Recoup lost revenue

Unfulfilled deliveries not only lead to lost revenue today, but also adversely impact the chance of repeat custom due to customer dissatisfaction. Even if it's the courier's fault, most shoppers hold the retailer responsible for failed deliveries and 24% will never make a purchase with them again. But automated courier claims can offset the revenue loss. By automatically spotting failed deliveries and filing compensation claims against couriers, automated courier claims can recoup up to 15% of your entire delivery budget.

Enhance customer satisfaction

In the Beauty & Cosmetics sector, you're now competing globally with more competitors than ever before and ensuring your customers are satisfied is vital. By picking up on potential shipping errors in advance (i.e. delivery going off route or stuck in customs for longer than expected), automated courier claims platforms enable you to fix the issue before the customer realises. If the problem is unresolvable, you can give customers advance warning and send a replacement and/or offer compensation, offsetting a negative experience.

Know the best couriers for your products

Nowadays there are hundreds of courier options, so you don't have to sign a contract with just one courier for all your deliveries. Take Lookfantastic, for example. The leading Beauty & Cosmetics ecommerce retailer uses Evri, Royal Mail, DPD and even Uber Eats depending on the geography, product, timing and sustainability of delivery. An automated courier claims platform gives you insights and analytics into the most reliable couriers for particular products and particular routes, so you can use this data to optimise courier performance for your items.

How to embed automated courier claims in your logistics

Adding new logistics processes can be complicated, but automating courier claims is not. As a simple plug-in to your CRM or e-commerce site, platforms like Claimit are up and running with no lengthy integrations or onboarding required.

Find out how to get up and running here.