Image: China's online beauty sales will top US$20bn

A new study published by Kline and Company has found that internet beauty sales in China are expected to be worth more than US$20bn (EUR16.3bn £12.9bn) by 2016.

The report - Beauty Retailing Through Direct Sales in Emerging Markets 2011: Channel Analysis and Opportunities - examines new trends in the world's emerging economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China.

According to the consulting and research group, China's online sector has been growing at a rate of 200 per cent since 2006 and is already worth nearly US$8bn (EUR6.5bn, £5.2bn).

Between 2006 and 2011, the number of internet users in China increased 234 per cent from 137 million to 457 million, with 205 million online buyers as of last year.

The growth in online beauty sales has also been driven by "e-malls" allowing customers to purchase a range of domestic and international brands in one location.

Companies once focused on person-to-person sales are now embracing online commerce as a result of the success and popularity of e-commerce offers.

However, the report found that the person-to-person approach remains prevalent in Brazil - the largest of the four BRIC economies - despite a growth in the online beauty business.

Kline industry manager Karen Doskow said: "This news is astounding and to put this into perspective, Chinese online beauty sales in 2011 are nearly equal in size to the entire beauty market for France."

Li Wang, vice president of Kline Asia, added: "The rapid growth of internet usage over the past five years has given way to a tremendous surge in sales and availability of local and foreign cosmetic and toiletry brands."

Details: www.klinegroup.com

Image: yo-ichi/shutterstock.com

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