Cosmetics
Indexed performance data for Cosmetics brands on Shopify: conversion rate, AOV, free shipping behavior, and shipping revenue, tracked against a consistent baseline month over month.
Part of the PDQ Checkout Benchmarks: 130M+ checkout sessions across 500+ Shopify merchants, indexed to June 2024 = 1.0x.
Cosmetics Checkout Performance Index: September 2026
An index of 1.15x means that metric is 15% above baseline. 0.92x means it's 8% below. We publish relative change rather than absolute numbers because absolute rates vary too much by merchant size and category to be meaningful as cross-merchant benchmarks.
September 2026: Cosmetics Checkout Insights
Three signals worth acting on this month
Written for Cosmetics operators. Every observation connects to a decision you can make this week.
Cosmetics AOV recovered to 0.99x in August, nearly closing the gap to baseline after two below-baseline months
Cosmetics AOV fell to 0.97x in July -- its first sub-baseline reading since January 2025 -- and partially recovered to 0.99x in August. That's one point below baseline, and while technically still below, the direction has reversed and the magnitude is negligible. ARPC recovered to exactly 1.00x, its first at-baseline reading since the same period. The two-month dip appears to have been the seasonal replenishment trough that typically follows the spring routine-building peak, and the vertical is coming out of it.
August's partial recovery is consistent with what happens in Cosmetics as summer winds down: buyers begin thinking about fall skincare transitions, heavier moisturizers replace summer SPF routines, and the pre-fall beauty refresh cycle activates. This is an attachment-purchase moment -- buyers adding a new serum or richer moisturizer alongside their existing routine products -- and it tends to lift AOV modestly above the summer replenishment floor without reaching the larger spring routine-build peaks.
What to do: August's AOV recovery is the signal to refresh your checkout cross-sell framing before September's fall transition fully activates. The "complete your routine" prompts that worked in spring need to reflect autumn use cases now: heavier textures, layering products, and the specific combinations that serve buyers moving from summer to fall skincare. A well-timed "your fall routine" framing at the pre-payment step will capture the attachment purchase behavior that drives Cosmetics AOV above baseline in Q3 and Q4.
Coupon usage fell further to 0.77x in August, a new dataset low for the vertical
Cosmetics coupon usage hit 0.81x in both June and July, appearing to have found a floor. August's 0.77x breaks that floor, setting a new series low and extending the normalization run to twenty months from the December 2024 peak of 1.51x. The vertical has now shed 74 points of coupon engagement since peak -- the most sustained promotional pullback of any category in this dataset.
A 0.77x reading means Cosmetics buyers are completing at 23 points below baseline coupon engagement. That's a level that has historically only been reached by Food & Beverages, a category whose buyers have never been code-motivated. For Cosmetics -- a category that once ran 51 points above baseline on code redemption -- this is a complete behavioral reset. The buyers who arrived via influencer code, email capture discount, or loyalty code mechanics two years ago have either adopted non-code purchase behavior or been replaced by a buyer cohort that never expected a discount in the first place.
What to do: With coupon usage at a new dataset low and AOV recovering toward baseline, September is the moment to test whether a full removal of the visible promo field from your default checkout state hurts conversion. The data suggests buyers are completing without codes at increasing rates. CVR at 1.01x in August with 0.77x coupon usage is the clearest possible signal that the discount field is not what's driving completion. Run a 30-day test with the promo field collapsed behind a link. If conversion holds, you've simplified the checkout experience and removed the last visible invitation to code-hunt.
Shipping revenue improved for a second consecutive month to 0.89x, continuing the gradual recovery from June's series low
Cosmetics shipping revenue hit its dataset low of 0.78x in June and has been recovering since: 0.85x in July, 0.89x in August. Two consecutive months of improvement after a prolonged decline is the clearest recovery signal the series has produced. The vertical is still below baseline on shipping revenue -- it has been since October 2024 -- but the direction has changed and the improvement is accelerating slightly.
The recovery is mechanically connected to the free shipping rate pulling back. FSR dropped from 1.04x in May to 0.91x in August -- a 13-point decline over three months as Memorial Day threshold changes fully reversed. Fewer orders qualifying for free shipping means more shipping revenue per session, even without any change in absolute shipping prices. The question is whether the current trajectory continues or stabilizes around 0.89x to 0.90x as the free shipping rate finds its new floor.
What to do: If your Cosmetics shipping revenue has been recovering in line with the vertical, the improvement is likely mechanical -- your free shipping threshold is doing its job of positioning above where buyers are landing. Protect it going into fall: September and October bring higher AOV as the fall routine-building cycle activates, and a threshold calibrated for August's 0.99x AOV will sit correctly relative to where September and October buyers are likely to land. Don't lower it in response to the summer replenishment trough -- the buyers coming in September will have larger baskets.
How does your Cosmetics store's checkout compare?
Checkout Index tells you where your store sits inside this vertical: personalized Health Score, shipping signal analysis, and a revenue impact estimate based on your actual checkout behavior.
Archive
Monthly archive: Cosmetics
Every monthly dispatch, indexed and preserved. Use the archive to track how Cosmetics checkout behavior has shifted over time, to validate whether seasonal patterns in your own data match the vertical.
September 2026 {{latest}}
AOV recovers to 0.99x after two below-baseline months; coupon usage drops to 0.77x, new dataset low; shipping revenue improves for second consecutive month to 0.89x.
AOV falls to 0.97x, first sub-baseline reading since January 2025; coupon usage holds at 0.81x floor; shipping revenue ticks up to 0.85x, first improvement since October 2025.
Coupon usage falls to 0.81x, lowest reading in the dataset; AOV pulls back to 1.03x; free shipping rate settles at 0.99x after May dataset high.
Data begins June 2024 (baseline). Earlier dispatches available on request.
Methodology
About this dataset
The Cosmetics dataset within the PDQ Checkout Benchmarks draws from aggregated, anonymized session data across cosmetics-categorized merchants on Shopify's platform. Merchants are classified using Shopify's standard industry taxonomy and must meet a minimum session threshold for inclusion. The Cosmetics cohort spans makeup, skincare, fragrance, haircare, and beauty tools categories.
All figures are indexed to June 2024 = 1.0x. Figures exclude bot traffic, draft orders, and point-of-sale transactions. Data refreshes monthly, typically in the first week, reflecting the prior month's activity. Absolute conversion rates are not published; all metrics represent relative indexed change against the baseline cohort.
To compare your store's actual performance against this vertical, use Checkout Index.
