Overview

Myntra released the "Beauty in the Age of Gen Z" report, analysing platform data from August 2025 to August 2026 to map how India’s Gen Z shoppers purchase beauty and personal‑care products.

Core Findings

  • Sun‑protection (SPF) products posted a 60 % year‑on‑year increase among Gen Z shoppers, with searches for spray sunscreens up 80 %, ingredient‑led sunscreens up 70 % and tinted sunscreens up 60 %.
  • 53 % of luxury‑makeup orders now contain a mini‑size product, and minis account for 14 % of luxury units sold, led by lipstick, perfume and face primer.
  • K‑Beauty demand surged 200 % YoY; related searches rose more than 300 %. Myntra now lists over 1,000 SKUs from 90+ K‑Beauty brands, adding 30+ new brands in the last year.
  • Hair‑mask orders grew 110 %, outpacing conditioners at 59 %, while men’s skincare orders rose 78 % YoY, driven primarily by Gen Z.
  • Gen Z’s beauty spend per customer is 1.2 times higher YoY, giving the category a 75 % higher share of wallet than millennials.
  • Repeat Gen Z beauty orders increased ~70 % in the current year, and the repeat beauty shopper often overlaps with the repeat apparel shopper.
  • Beauty items represent one in five units ordered on Myntra, growing at twice the rate of the broader online beauty market, and attracted nearly half a million new customers in May 2026.

Geographic & Demographic Insights

  • Half of Gen Z beauty buyers on the platform reside in Tier‑2 and Tier‑3 cities, which also generate half of Myntra’s international beauty demand.
  • Cities such as Ludhiana, Patna, Bhopal, Indore, Guwahati, Surat, Varanasi and Imphal are identified as key growth engines.
  • Gen Z shoppers in these non‑metro markets purchase serums, toners, sunscreens and hair masks alongside everyday staples.

Platform Capabilities & Creator Ecosystem

  • Myntra hosts ~82,000 active beauty creators; user‑generated content (UGC) rose 40 % YoY, and nearly two‑thirds of new creator registrations in the last four months are Gen Z.
  • Virtual Try‑On makes shoppers 2 times more likely to buy, while the Skin Analyzer lifts conversion by ~58 %.
  • The M‑Now beauty experience features ~600 brands with delivery times as fast as nine minutes.

D2C and Indigenous Brands

  • The platform lists 700 pure‑play D2C beauty brands and 3,000 emerging D2C names; D2C beauty grew 68 % in FY26.
  • Gen Z shoppers are 25 % more likely to try an indigenous or D2C brand, with examples such as Plum, Minimalist, Foxtale, The Derma Co. and Chemist at Play driving growth.

Leadership Commentary

  • Deepak Joshi, Senior Director – Beauty and Personal Care, described Gen Z as a “skin‑first” generation that prefers ingredient transparency and year‑round sun protection.
  • Sharon Pais, Head of Myntra, emphasized beauty as a growth engine and highlighted the importance of early brand discovery, ingredient‑focused trust, and creator‑driven engagement.
  • Deepash Jain, VP – Marketing, noted that Gen Z “scrolls to discover” rather than searches to shop, prompting Myntra to expand its creator ecosystem and organic trend discovery.

Market Context

  • Industry estimates (Redseer) project India’s beauty market to expand from ~USD 23 bn to ~USD 40 bn, though per‑capita spend remains low at ~USD 15, compared with USD 38 in China and USD 383 in the US.