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R R E E P P O O R R T T

Egypt, the assortment focuses more heavily on mass-market
and middle-tier beauty products. This nuanced understanding
of varied beauty preferences across MENA has contributed
significantly to Noon’s success in the category.
Namshi: Fashion-Beauty Integration

Namshi has successfully leveraged the natural overlap between
fashion and beauty e-commerce, creating an integrated shopping
experience that drives cross-category discovery and purchase.
Originally focused primarily on fashion, Namshi has expanded its
Lebanon: Resilient Beauty E-commerce beauty and personal care offerings significantly, recognizing the

Despite economic challenges, Lebanon’s beauty e-commerce high affinity between fashion and beauty consumers in the region.
sector has demonstrated remarkable resilience. With e-commerce The platform’s approach to beauty e-commerce emphasizes
representing approximately 6% of total retail in Lebanon as of mobile-first experiences, with highly visual product presentations
2022, the digital channel has become increasingly important for and integrated content that educates consumers on product
beauty consumers. Platforms like Spinneys and luxury beauty application and benefits. This content-commerce integration
retailer Ounass have maintained presence in the market, offering has proven particularly effective in categories requiring greater
both mass-market and premium beauty options. consumer education, such as skincare and color cosmetics.
Lebanon’s projected e-commerce market value of $0.8 billion
by 2025 reflects both challenges and opportunities in the Sephora Middle East:
market. The beauty sector, traditionally strong in Lebanon’s Omnichannel Beauty Leader
retail landscape, has successfully transitioned significant Sephora’s digital presence in MENA exemplifies successful
consumer engagement to digital channels. This transition has integration of online and offline beauty retail. The company
been facilitated by relatively high internet penetration and has invested substantially in its e-commerce experience
consumer familiarity with international beauty brands. while maintaining a strong physical store network, creating
seamless connections between digital discovery and in-store
Company Spotlights: experiences.
Leaders in MENA Beauty E-commerce

Noon: Localized Beauty at Scale
Noon has emerged as a dominant force in MENA’s beauty
e-commerce landscape, with strong presence across Saudi
Arabia, UAE, and expansion into markets like Egypt and Iraq. The
platform’s success in beauty can be attributed to its localized
approach, offering Arabic-language interface, region-specific
product curation, and multiple payment options including
cash on delivery—still important in certain markets despite its
declining share overall. Noon’s beauty strategy demonstrates
the importance of market-specific adaptation, with different
approaches for Gulf versus North African markets. In Saudi
Arabia, for instance, Noon has emphasized premium beauty
and fragrance offerings aligned with local preferences, while in
Sephora’s implementation of virtual try-on technologies for
makeup products has addressed a key friction point in beauty
e-commerce—the inability to test products before purchase.
By incorporating augmented reality tools that allow consumers
to visualize products on their own faces using smartphone
cameras, Sephora has significantly enhanced conversion rates
for color cosmetics, traditionally one of the more challenging
beauty categories to sell online.

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