The South African health and beauty sector continues to evolve rapidly, shaped by shifting shopper behaviours and intensified competition between branded and private label players. Health and beauty channel performance and category insights shared in the latest Ti Health & Beauty report highlights both opportunities and risks for brands operating in this highly dynamic space. Understanding and adapting to increasingly complex shopper behaviours is now the critical factor for brand survival and growth in this competitive landscape.
Growth Driven by Everyday Needs
In 2024, turnover growth in personal care was bolstered by body skin care, deodorants, and feminine products, while healthcare saw analgesics and cold/cough treatments slightly outpacing overall market growth. This underscores a simple truth: everyday consumer needs around self-care and wellness strongly influence purchase behaviours. For brands, innovation and relevance in these core sub-categories remain critical to sustaining growth.
The Private Brand Challenge
The expansion of retailer private brands is relentless and the threat to established brands is undeniable. For example, Clicks has been a key driver of private brand momentum, with over 31% of front shop sales attributed to private labels. By mid-2025, personal care growth at Clicks was significantly supported by a remarkable +20.5% increase in private brand sales. This expansion presents a growing threat to established health and beauty brands, forcing them to differentiate through trust, quality, and emotional connection, or risk losing share to competitively priced alternatives.
Research Before Purchase: A New Shopper Norm
Healthcare shopping is becoming increasingly research-driven. A staggering 89% of shoppers conduct pre-shop research, with this figure rising to 98% among younger shoppers aged 18–24. Retailers appear to be owning the conversation before shoppers even enter a store. Retailers’ digital platforms are often the first point of influence, which raises key questions for brand owners: how can their messaging break through to ensure visibility in this retailer-controlled conversation? How can you ensure your message reaches your consumers when the path to purchase starts online, long before the shelf?
The answers lie in a nuanced, channel-specific strategy informed by shopper mindsets.
Shopper Mindsets Across Formats
Shopper behaviour differs notably across retail formats. For personal care, Clicks and Dis-Chem are seen as stock-up destinations for deals, while online platforms serve both for value-driven bulk buys and as discovery hubs for new products. Healthcare shoppers, meanwhile, use pharmacies for specific needs but lean on online platforms for planning and browsing. These insights highlight the importance of tailoring promotions, innovation, and range positioning to the unique role of each channel.
Cross-Merchandising Opportunities
Even the supermarket channel has its own unique role in growing the health and beauty categories. In supermarkets, grocery shopping remains the primary mission even when health and personal care items are added to the basket. Creative cross-merchandising – placing healthcare and beauty items alongside everyday groceries – could stimulate incremental sales and encourage greater category crossover.
Changing dynamics
The health and beauty industry in South Africa is being reshaped by the interplay between consumer needs, private brand expansion, and digital influence.
For brands, staying relevant requires sharper channel strategies, stronger shopper engagement, and innovative approaches to defend against rising retailer power. Success depends on tailoring range, promotions, and innovation to align with the specific shopper mindset in each distinct retail environment.
