The UK-based health and beauty retailer Boots first partnered with on-demand delivery service Uber Eats back in 2021. Then, last September, it further extended this retail channel by partnering with Just Eat and now has plans to expand the service into another 100 Boots stores by spring 2025.
When the partnership was announced, Paula Bobbett, who is chief digital officer at Boots, said the company’s online business continues to grow and that “partnerships with platforms like Just Eat enable our customers a way to access our products quickly and easily.”
Meanwhile, Just Eat’s MD Claire Pointon said the company was focused on expanding its offering beyond food delivery.
“By partnering with the UK’s leading health and beauty retailer, we’re continuing our mission to empower convenience for our customers, helping them get whatever they want, whenever and wherever they need it,” she explained.
Meanwhile, last July another UK-based retailer The Perfume Shop took omnichannel shopping to the next level by joining Deliveroo, offering over 1,000 fragrances via the on-demand delivery app across London, Manchester, Bristol, Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow and Edinburgh.
These kinds of retail partnership have also been big news in the US market.
In March, Sally Beauty signed a nationwide partnership with Uber Eats, which was the delivery company’s first national beauty partnership to “make it easier than ever for beauty enthusiasts to get must-have products delivered straight to their door, on demand.”
While another nationwide US-based retailer, Ulta Beauty, is currently working with DoorDash in 50 states.
Foodora: 20% YoY growth for beauty delivery
According to the chief international officer at European on-demand delivery service foodora, Herbert Haas, the company has recently seen 20% year over year growth for delivery of beauty products.
“Beauty is an important vertical for foodora, there is a growing consumer maturity and increased interest,” he explained.
Haas said the company has established strong partnerships across Europe and has worked with global businesses like The Body Shop and Lush, as well as local brands and retailers in specific markets.
He added that the firm also has strong relationships with global FMCG companies like P&G and Unilever for brands such as Gillette and Dove, but that “there is still a significant potential for growth and development.”
“More control over when online purchases will arrive”
The head of Uber Direct UK & Ireland, Caroline Varga said that retailers can provide a more enjoyable shopping experience is by offering faster and more flexible delivery options.
“People want to feel as though they have control over when their online purchases will arrive,” she explained last December, in an interview with CosmeticsDesign-Europe.
“A growing desire for convenient delivery options is reflected in consumers’ preferences today, with many now expecting to receive their goods on the day of purchase,” she continued.
Varga said that Uber Direct’s research discovered that 86% of consumers wanted same-day delivery, while 57% also wanted an on-demand delivery option (within two hours) for beauty products.
“This expectation that deliveries should fit around their schedules is also influencing whether consumers follow through with a purchase,” she said.
“According to our research, 51% are more likely to buy from a retailer that allows them to choose a 60-minute time slot on next day-delivery,” she added.
Delivery companies: reshaping the European beauty retail landscape
Haas said he believes that companies like foodora are significantly reshaping the European beauty retail landscape by using rapid home delivery as a core differentiator.
“This model meets increasing consumer demands for convenience, immediacy, and accessibility, which for now is mainly used in situations of urgency or unexpected need, but we’re noticing that it’s more and more expanding to less urgent needs like vitamins purchases or face masks,” he shared.
“We enhance brand visibility, allowing beauty brands to reach customers instantly and directly, which supports the transformation of shopping behaviours by customers,” he continued.
Haas believes that consumers choose foodora for beauty product delivery primarily because of its speed and convenience.
“The ability to receive personal care and beauty items within the hour sets foodora apart from traditional e-commerce platforms, which often involve longer delivery windows,” he said
He also said that foodora sees itself as a “complementary channel, offering beauty brands exposure to a different customer segment: one that values immediacy, spontaneity, and the ease of integrating beauty purchases into their daily routines.”
Vitamins and supplements a growing category for instant delivery
Haas also highlighted that the vitamins and supplements category has experienced notable growth within foodora’s ecosystem, with vitamins alone seeing a sales increase, particularly driven by heightened demand during the winter months.
“This growth reflects a broader shift in consumer behaviour, with more people focusing on preventive health and wellness, and becoming increasingly aware of how regular supplements can help them feel better and stay healthy,” he said.
Haas believed that beauty brands should now recognise the emerging consumer expectation for immediate availability and rapid delivery as a crucial component of their overall strategy.
He highlighted that there has been “a shift towards instant availability” and “that integrating beauty and wellness products into this fast-paced, on-demand environment is no longer just a value-add, it’s quickly becoming a baseline expectation.”
