There’s a shift in the elitist cosmetics business, powering an uptick in sales of prestige beauty at TJ Maxx and their sister brands. As we approach the business finale of 2024, myriad YouTube “haul videos” are documenting the phenomenon. In fact, the growing popularity of shopping for prestige beauty at off-price behemoths TJ Maxx, Marshalls, and Ross are dramatized by such videos, which I reviewed in rapid succession.

It’s no secret that Gen Z is positively besotted with fragrance, and by shopping off-price, they’re able to add to their ever-expanding scent collections at a fraction of what they’d pay at a traditional retailer.

According to research firm Circana, prestige beauty sales in off-price retailers are growing “modestly.” But considering the fact that the U.S. prestige beauty category is currently outstripping mass – experiencing an 8 percent leap in the first half of 2024 alone, climbing to $15.3B  — even a modest increase means big, big bucks.

Field Trips to Off-Price Beauty Wonderlands

Led by my charming 28-year-old, Pennsylvania-based sherpa JuicyJas (1.1 million YouTube subscribers), who never met an early aughts fragrance she doesn’t like, I was taken on multiple virtual video field trips and gleaned considerable inside intel from this beauty influencer.

For starters, I learned that while there are beaucoup beauty bargains to be had, shoppers will have to work for them. In some stores, pretty much every single prestige SKU — right down to a single lipstick — is encased in sealed acrylic boxes. Interestingly, in a novel twist, this byproduct of our looting-spree modern lives is actually welcomed by some customers. Why? Because it keeps the products in pristine condition. No torn packaging means no grubby fingers sampling the merch. And who wants a mauled-over beauty self-reward?

Other stores opt for locked cabinets to prevent theft, forcing customers to signal a staffer for assistance. In a quaint form of customer service, once the customer has decided that, yes, she really does want to nab that bottle of Fantasy by Britney Spears, the staffer attaches a sticky note with her name on it and parks it behind the register. As long as the customer remembers to scoop it up at checkout – no mean feat for hardcore shoppers who can spend hours sifting through all those bargain goodies — she’s good to go.

Forget Replenishment, It’s All About the Treasure Hunt

 The M.O. of all off-price shopping paradises is the thrill of discovery. So, there is an art to the chase. Something else I learned from JuicyJas? There are no guarantees in the off-price prestige beauty retail world, so you have to act fast. In other words, just because you spot a unicorn-rare two-pack of Kiehl’s Clearly Corrective Dark Spot Dark Solution doesn’t mean you’ll find it there again. “I’ve never seen Kiehl’s at Ross,” JuicyJas gasped in one of her videos. And she may never again, depending on which of the 1,775 U.S. Ross stores she frequents.

Although a particular prestige beauty item may be purchased in relative bulk by TJX, parent of TJMaxx and Marshalls, and sprinkled among a handful of close proximity stores, the likelihood of finding it on a repeat visit is low. That makes relying on off-price retailers for a steady stream of your favorite prestige beauty basics, particularly skincare, virtually impossible. But it does ensure that customers return repeatedly to snare that surprise must-have beauty necessity. As pragmatists, just rejoice in a one-off score of a three-piece Ole Henriksen Let’s Get Luminous Brightening Skincare Set and move on to the next.

From Paris Hilton to Elizabeth Taylor, “Nostalgia” Celeb Scents Thrive Here

It’s no secret that Gen Z is positively besotted with fragrance, and by shopping off-price, they’re able to add to their ever-expanding scent collections at a fraction of what they’d pay at a traditional retailer. Not that they’d probably even be able to find, say, nine-year-old Ari by Ariana Grande at their local Macy’s or Saks Fifth Avenue, where it’s all about inventory-churn and new, new, new.

Much like the in-person experience of shopping at off-price retailers, venturing online can yield very random, no-rhyme-or-reason offerings, particularly in scent. On Marshalls.com right now, for instance, there are just 26 options in the fragrance category. Still, alongside a few brands I’d never heard of, there are some gems, including Viktor & Rolf Flower Bomb, Coach Poppy, Jimmy Choo Rose Passion and Burberry Touch – all heavily discounted and destined for Impulse Purchase status.

Consumers Are Doing Their “Batch Code” Homework

On one of the many Reddit off-price retail beauty boards I routinely scan, it became clear that there’s more than a little concern among consumers regarding the efficacy – and even safety — of some of the dust-covered potential treasures that wind up on these stores’ shelves.

While some products are clearly marked with expiration dates, that is certainly not the case for all. Fortunately, shoppers have become pretty savvy at finding workarounds, including using apps that can verify batch codes and corresponding product expiration dates, on the spot. If they’ve purchased online, and have not actually opened the product, they can typically return it if a batch code reveals it’s past its prime.

And speaking of online…although Ross is a digital-free zone and sells zero merch DTC, I found the beauty offerings for TJMaxx and Marshalls to be pretty comprehensive. In particular, the “Designer Beauty” section of Marshalls.com is a goldmine, and even offers a handful of SKUs from ultra-prestige brands I was literally shocked to see, such as Augustinus Bader, 111Skin, Sisley and Byredo.

Maybe It’s Time for Intentional Marketing?

If the customer is there – and she clearly is – and traditional retail is struggling, it might be time for prestige beauty manufacturers to make a committed, cohesive plan for selling off-price. Maybe instead of just punting the discontinued or last-season merch, why not dig into the numbers, find out what’s really moving at off-price and funnel in more of the same? This discovery process may even lead to a decision to bring back a much-beloved product – in several of the JuicyJas videos, she was overjoyed to find a few discontinued products, including an Elf blush in the brand’s original minimalist black packaging. Just because it’s gone, it’s not forgotten.

On the retail side, well-trained and dedicated beauty personnel would not only help cut down on theft but would also, without question, boost sales. From my own personal experience shopping these stores and uncreepily spying and eavesdropping on consumers, along with all my YouTube recon, it’s clear there are wildly beauty-literate humans shopping these shelves. Why not serve them what they want? Time to come down from the Ivory Tower and reach a new shopper base eager to become a loyal customer.