Criteo (NASDAQ: CRTO), the global commerce intelligence platform, today released its Health & Beauty Pulse 2026 report, outlining how AI adoption, multi-retailer browsing, and shifting loyalty dynamics are reshaping the modern beauty buying ritual across global markets.
This comes as beauty shoppers actively seek personalised recommendations, moved fluidly between in-store and online touchpoints and increasingly leverage artificial intelligence to guide their beauty and personal care decisions.
KEY FINDINGS:
• AI as the new beauty advisor and restocker: 38% of global consumers report using AI assistants during their beauty and personal care shopping trips, underscoring AI’s growing role in discovery, research, and decision-making. Globally, 40% of consumers say they would be comfortable allowing an AI assistant to automatically reorder routine personal care products, such as shampoo, toothpaste, and skincare items, when supplies run low.
• AI shortlists drive purchase decisions: Among Health & Beauty shoppers who interact with AI assistants, 57% say that recommendations or featured products surfaced within AI responses are highly or moderately influential on their final purchases.
• Brand loyalty is conditional: Loyalty is far from set in stone—only 34% of shoppers remain strictly loyal to preferred beauty brands without switching. Instead, purchasing decisions are heavily dictated by natural ingredients (32%), in-store testing or sampling (27%), and sustainability (22%).
• Openness to new brands: Across select Health & Beauty categories, more than half of consumers globally have purchased from brands they had not bought in the prior 12 months, with particularly high share of new-to-brand buyers in Perfume & Cologne (53%), Makeup (50%), and Skincare (50%). Accessible consumer brands such as those commonly found across drugstores, mass retailers, and everyday retail channels, are drawing higher shares of these new-to-brand buyers than prestige brands.
As consumers increasingly rely on AI and move seamlessly between digital and physical shopping channels, brands must optimize product content, structured data, and availability to stay discoverable and deliver a consistent experience across every touchpoint. Building trust through authentic reviews and social proof, while engaging high-intent shoppers with compelling, benefit-led content during key purchase moments, can help influence decisions and drive loyalty.
Medhavi Singh, Country Head, Criteo India, said, “The beauty and personal care journey is becoming increasingly dynamic, with consumers blending digital discovery, physical experiences and AI-powered recommendations before making a purchase. As shoppers become more open to exploring new brands and expect personalized experiences across every touchpoint, marketers need to move beyond traditional channel-based strategies and adopt a cross-channel and full-funnel approach. By combining trusted commerce data with AI, brands can better understand consumer intent, deliver more relevant and seamless experiences and build stronger, long-term customer relationships in an increasingly competitive market.”
Today’s consumers seek convenience without compromising on exploration. To stay ahead, retailers need to anticipate changing shopper behaviours and create intuitive, AI-powered experiences that make it easy to discover, compare, and purchase products throughout the customer journey.