When strategizing around its beauty assortment for 2026, it looks like Target Corp. is right on the money.
The mass retail giant is rejiggering its layout, bringing in over 3,000 new products and triangulating its selections between price, trend and commodity.
“More than half of the Target shoppers are purchasing beauty items,” said Amanda Nusz, senior vice president of merchandising, essentials and beauty, Target, said. “The category has nearly doubled since 2019.”
Nusz credits that to Target’s mix of “quality, value and style,” which emphasizes both taste and trend-driven shoppers and those going to the retailer for essentials like groceries. “Beauty is a category that people need every day, but they also are looking for new ideas and inspiration,” she said.
Of the thousands of new products entering stores, including Dr. Muneeb Shah’s Remedy and other products from brands like Prequel and La Roche-Posay, 90 percent of them are priced under $20. “We know that when they come to beauty, they also want to come to shop other parts of the store. We’re seeing great synergy with wellness products, nutrition, and how holistically people see their everyday routines. We find it’s a category that drives traffic and connection, so we’re really committed,” she said.
That mix of products started with what consumers were asking for, combined with data points around trend, culture and performance, Nusz said. It’s how the retailer landed on a balance of emerging brands and legacy ones. “We can take our scale, test, learn and move quickly, but be really clear that our legacy and our heritage is introducing brands and building brands. That’s where we’re focused,” she said.
Target is also getting in on the K-Beauty trend with brands like Haruharu Wonder. “You’ll see the categories you can continually bet on Target for, and we’ll keep bringing in some newness,” Nusz said.
“We think about meeting the guests at different life stages, we think about it through the lens of routine and price points. And we think curating with intention through that has allowed us to build this sense of what you can count on at Target,” Nusz continued. “You’re going to see us be really thoughtful about building solutions across skin tones, hair textures, and a need of price points. The guest does splurge, but they also look for a deal, so it’s really making sure we build a portfolio that allows beauty to feel accessible without sacrificing quality or style is what we’re about.”
Per the company’s last earnings call in November 2024, net sales overall at Target were down 1.5 percent, but beauty, alongside food and essentials, was noted as a stronghold of consumer spend. On the heels of holiday, fragrance, skin care, sun care and hair care all performed well, Nusz said.
“We see men paying more and more attention to their skin, we’re seeing them add new routines and regimens, and we’re making routines simple and meeting them where they at,” Nusz said. To that end, she’s also refreshed the beauty formats in-store.
“We’re introducing new trial sized options for men, we’re going to leverage the mini fixtures, and we’re going to reflow the floor layout to add incremental brands and displays to better reflect his evolving needs and routines,” she said.
She’s taking the same approach with other bright spots in Target’s assortment as well.
“One of our biggest growth categories is hair care, so we fully refreshed the aisle. We made it easier to shop by texture, routine and concern, and bringing hot new brands and brands they’ve loved and want more from. We’re also enhancing elements, like new fragrance testers and signage to lean into scent,” she said. “We define scent more broadly than fragrance, it’s how people live their lives, through lotion.”
From a pricing standpoint, she’s kept the assortment “accessible,” with 90 percent of the products under $20 and more than half of them under $10. (It’s worth noting that Target’s partnership with Ulta Beauty, a larger bet on prestige pricing in Target’s aisles, ends in August).
“We also learn a lot through our minis and trials. It’s a great, low-risk trial for a consumer to discover new brands and new things, and it fuels then where we want to spend more of our space in terms of solutions and categories,” Nusz said.
Over 80 percent of those purchases are happening in-store, though Nusz sees opportunities to blue the lines further between digital and physical sales channels. “The reality is, the consumer is shopping whether it’s on their couch or outside their home as well. You have to think through how do we have [channels] work together to amplify brands and innovation,” she said.
There will be an increased investment in stores through “events, hands-on trial, more sampling, exploration through signing and display, and you will see us complement that with some digital tools,” she said. “We have virtual try-on that you can do on our Digital site, but we also are testing that in-store where you can try on digitally. It’s recognizing that the beauty of Target is both, how do we build this connected experience that allows people to get the support and inspiration they need, and blur those lines to make it really easy to shop at Target.”
On the eventing front, Nusz has seen success with additional forays into experiential activations. “We did quite a few during the holidays and we found that it drove strong engagement,” she said. “We are using our store team members and so that is unique. How do you get the chance to give that chance, create a really inspiring experience where people can have fun?”
The moves come at a time of unrest in Target’s home market of Minneapolis, with ongoing protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers. Incoming CEO Michael Fiddelke joined over 60 other executives from the city in signing a letter from Minnesota’s Chamber of Commerce calling for an “immediate deescalation of tensions and for state, local and federal officials to work together.”
