Beauty Retail’s New Kind of Friendship: Rivals Team Up on TikTok Shop and More

Sephora, the world’s largest prestige beauty retailer, announced last week that it will begin selling on TikTok Shop in the U.S. The move comes about six months after Ulta Beauty launched its own storefront on the platform, becoming the first American specialty beauty retailer to do so.

The new partnerships extend a pattern of cooperation among beauty retailers. Sephora has operated shops within Kohl’s since 2020, while Ulta had a six-year run of shop-in-shop locations at Target that wound down this year. Online sellers Revolve and QVC have also built beauty businesses on TikTok Shop, and BeautySpace, which curates beauty programs for external retailers, works with names from Old Navy to Walmart and Bloomingdale’s in addition to running its own freestanding store.

The current round of tie-ups is notable for both its participants and timing, as beauty retail becomes increasingly fragmented. Korean beauty retailer Olive Young is also entering Sephora, underscoring the growing habit of cross-channel collaboration. Oliver Chen, retail analyst at TD Cowen, said retailers have learned to be proactive and follow customers wherever they shop. 'You don’t want to get left behind and have FOMO,' he said.

Chen added that TikTok is 'a force we’ve never seen,' calling it a 'frenemy' because of its uniquely engaging role in beauty commerce. The platform, he said, has become a central place for beauty discovery and sales.