How will the Rite Aid bankruptcy affect Amazon?
On October 15, Rite Aid announced that it was filing for bankruptcy, joining a growing list of retailers that have done so this year. Since Rite Aid is one of the largest drugstore chains in the United States, this move could have ripple effects on brands selling products ranging from OTC medications to household supplies.
One market likely to see an impact is beauty products. According to Statista, 58% of Americans get their beauty products at the drugstore. Still, an estimated 26% of total Beauty & Personal Care revenue in the U.S. will be generated through online sales this year. As Rite Aid closes 100+ stores nationwide, it will leave customers in states from California to Pennsylvania looking for a new place to purchase affordable beauty products. Many of them will land on Amazon.
In this post, we use Jungle Scout Cobalt data to take a closer look at Amazon sales trends for leading drugstore beauty brands. Plus, we’ll explore what the data says about the impact of Rite Aid’s bankruptcy in Amazon’s beauty market and beyond.
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Amazon Trends for Drugstore Beauty Brands
Drugstore beauty products appeal to a broad range of consumers because they’re affordable and more accessible than many celebrity or luxury beauty brands. This makes them a popular topic on social media, which only helps to drive demand for drugstore beauty brands on Amazon.
Videos using #DrugstoreMakeup have over 2B views on TikTok
Videos using #DrugstoreMakeupMustHaves have over 357M views on TikTok
Videos using #DrugstoreMakeupFavorites have over 115M views on TikTok
Consumer demand for these products isn’t going anywhere, and as Rite Aid reduces its brick-and-mortar locations, some of that demand will funnel to online shopping channels.
On Amazon, brands like Aveeno and Covergirl are already experiencing sales growth that could get additional fuel in the wake of Rite Aid’s bankruptcy, while brands like Garnier and L’Oreal may consider ramping up strategies to improve growth as their Rite Aid sales decrease.
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Here’s a snapshot of some of the most popular drugstore beauty brands sold at Rite Aid, and how those brands are performing on Amazon:
Almay
800+ products on Amazon
153 products on RiteAid.com*
Market share in the, Amazon Beauty & Personal Care Category up 18% YoY
Amazon Revenue up 57% YoY
Unit Sales on Amazon up 28% YoY
Aveeno
1,000+ products on Amazon
59 products on RiteAid.com*
Market share in the Amazon Beauty & Personal Care Category up 13% YoY
Amazon Revenue up 50% YoY
Unit Sales on Amazon up 35% YoY
Black Radiance
300+ products on Amazon
151 products on RiteAid.com*
Market share in the Amazon Beauty & Personal Care Category down 10% YoY
Amazon Revenue up 21% YoY
Unit Sales on Amazon up 18% YoY
Covergirl
3,000+ products on Amazon
614 products on RiteAid.com*
Market share in the Amazon Beauty & Personal Care Category down <1% YoY
Amazon Revenue up 33% YoY
Unit Sales on Amazon up 9% YoY
Garnier
2,000+ products on Amazon
166 products on RiteAid.com*
Market share in the Amazon Beauty & Personal Care Category down 12% YoY
Amazon Revenue up 18% YoY
Unit Sales on Amazon up 1% YoY
L’Oreal
100+ products on Amazon
992 products on RiteAid.com*
Market share in the Amazon Beauty & Personal Care Category down 88% YoY
Amazon Revenue down 84% YoY
Unit Sales on Amazon down 80% YoY
Maybelline
6,000+ products on Amazon
785 products on RiteAid.com*
Market share in the Amazon Beauty & Personal Care Category down 1% YoY
Amazon Revenue up 32% YoY
Unit Sales on Amazon up 17% YoY
Neutrogena
3,000+ products on Amazon
317 products on RiteAid.com*
Market share in the Amazon Beauty & Personal Care Category down 9% YoY
Amazon Revenue up 22% YoY
Unit Sales on Amazon up 25% YoY
Revlon
4,000+ products on Amazon
563 products on RiteAid.com*
Market share in the Amazon Beauty & Personal Care Category down 16% YoY
Amazon Revenue up 12% YoY
Unit Sales on Amazon up 12% YoY
*Source: RiteAid.com shopping search results, as viewed on 10/18/23
The beauty market on Amazon is highly competitive – but it’s also one where shoppers are likely to be brand loyal and purchase the same products repeatedly. With hundreds of Rite Aid closures looming, Amazon – with subscription options, free shipping, and other benefits – will be an appealing alternative for consumers searching for a new place to shop beauty.
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Rite Aid Brand and Product Trends on Amazon
Many consumers primarily shop at Rite Aid for medication and health items, so it’s not surprising that Health & Household is the Amazon category where Rite Aid lists the most products and brings in the most sales. Beauty & Personal Care products bring in the retailer’s second-highest Amazon sales numbers. While the company does sell Rite Aid branded products in other Amazon categories, they have far fewer products and sales in those markets.
Rite Aid – Top Amazon Categories by Unit Sales
Report date: January 1, 2023 – October 18, 2023
Health & Household
Beauty & Personal Care
Home & Kitchen
Baby Products
Pet Supplies
Rite Aid’s Best-Selling Products on Amazon
Whether Rite Aid reduces, eliminates, or expands its footprint on Amazon amid its bankruptcy, the retailer’s decisions could create shake ups in market share and sales in certain categories – particularly health, beauty, and personal care products. Brands selling products similar to Rite Aid’s best sellers should keep a close eye on the retailer’s next moves on Amazon.
These were the top-selling products under the Rite Aid brand on Amazon, by total unit sales between January 1, 2023 and October 18, 2023:
1: Rite Aid Acid Reducer Tablets
Unit sales up 59% year-over-year
Revenue up 65% year-over-year
Competing brands*: Healthcare Aisle, OHM, Tums, Phazyme
2: Rite Aid Sinus Wash Refill
Unit sales up 35% year-over-year
Revenue up 40% year-over-year
Competing brands*: Sinucleanse, Himalayan Chandra, Gurunanda
3: Rite Aid Extra Strength Acetaminophen
Unit sales up 84% year-over-year
Revenue up 33% year-over-year
Competing brands*: Valumeds, Tylenol, Doan’s, Advil
4: Rite Aid Antihistamine
Unit sales up 133% year-over-year
Revenue up 164% year-over-year
Competing brands*: Benadryl, Major Pharmaceuticals, Valumeds, Claritin
5: Rite Aid Anti-Fungal Cream
Unit sales up 113% year-over-year
Revenue up 119% year-over-year
Competing brands*: Equate, Careall, Lotrimin, Micatin
*Competing brands are those with the closest share of voice to the specified Rite Aid product for its top-ranking keywords
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Ecommerce in Flux: Rite Aid’s Bankruptcy and Beyond
The dynamics of the ecommerce market, particularly on Amazon, are in a state of fluidity. There are many contributing factors at play, from the recent wave of retailers filing for bankruptcy, to Amazon’s significant cuts to its private label brands amid legal scrutiny, to new and growing ecommerce competitors ranging from Walmart to TikTok.
This fluidity demands adaptability and a keen understanding of consumer behavior. As retailers like Rite Aid face uncertainties, brands need to remain agile to harness the potential of a market characterized by shakeups and shifting dynamics.
Talk to our experts about how you can leverage Jungle Scout Cobalt to track changes and seize opportunities in your market. Book a demo.
About this report
The product data in this report is representative of the U.S. Amazon market. Market insights on Amazon products were sourced from Jungle Scout Cobalt, an industry-leading market intelligence, advertising optimization, and ecommerce reporting platform powered by nearly 2 billion Amazon data points. Year-over-year trends data reflects the period of January 1, 2023 – October 18, 2023, as compared to January 1, 2022 – October 18, 2022.
We encourage you to share, reference and publish this report’s findings with attribution to “Jungle Scout Cobalt” and a link to this page.
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