Swipe, click, delivered: How quick commerce is powering India’s $40bn beauty boom led by GenZ

India’s beauty and personal care market is no longer just growing; it is being culturally reimagined. According to a RedSeer report titled India BPC 2030: Growth, Shifts, and Opportunities, the sector is on track to become a $40 billion opportunity by 2030, up from approximately $23 billion in FY2025. But it’s not the topline alone that matters. What stands out is how Gen Z and Gen Alpha are reshaping demand, discovery and delivery.

This is not a cyclical uptick driven solely by income or distribution. It is a behavioural reset, one that is reconfiguring the consumer journey from the ground up.

Not just online: Behaviourally online

India’s beauty purchase landscape has shifted dramatically in recent years. E-commerce accounted for only a small fraction of total beauty spending a few years ago. Today, it is approaching a meaningful share of roughly one-fifth, and Redseer projects it will command over one-third of beauty sales by 2030. Much of this growth is not happening on traditional marketplaces alone; it is happening where consumption meets immediacy.

Enter quick commerce.

What was once the realm of groceries and essentials is now a primary driver of beauty growth. According to the report, quick commerce could expand from contributing around 15 per cent of online beauty sales today to nearly 40 per cent by 2030, becoming the largest online format in the category. Impulse buys, replenishment purchases and trend-driven orders are increasingly happening not in weekly shopping baskets, but in real-time moments.

This shift reflects more than convenience; it reflects a mindset change inherent to younger consumers.

How is Gen Z and Gen Alpha driving this change?

By the end of the decade, Gen Z and Gen Alpha are expected to account for about half of all beauty spending in India, according to Redseer. That projection is not just statistical. It signals a generational takeover of category culture.

What distinguishes these cohorts?

• Digitally native discovery: Rather than in-store browsing, product discovery happens on feeds, through influencers, reviews, viral trends and short-form videos.

• Intent meets immediacy: Products go from “something I want” to “something I buy now” within minutes, often on the same scroll.

• Identity-driven consumption: Beauty is not just functional; it is expressive. Ingredients, ethics, brand ethos and community matter.

The report’s outlook on the demographic shift dovetails with broader trends in social media penetration in India, already well over half a billion users and projected to grow further, creating an ecosystem where trends don’t trickle down; they explode sideways.

New-ge brands Ride the Wave

This behavioural shift has unlocked opportunities for newer, digitally native brands. Redseer estimates that 150+ new-age brands are likely to cross ₹100 crore in revenue by 2031, with multiple brands poised to surpass the ₹1,000 crore mark.

These brands are not just scaling; they are reshaping category norms, harnessing creator-led marketing, community engagement and multi-platform distribution rather than legacy mass advertising and offline networks.

In contrast, India’s beauty ecosystem historically saw only around 20 brands cross ₹1,500 crore in revenue, a reflection of the structural hurdles that limited scale in the past.

What this means for the market

The implications of this shift extend beyond format shares and revenue projections:

• Immediacy is the new standard: Beauty is no longer a planned ritual, it is a moment-driven purchase, synced with how Gen Z lives, shops and connects.

• Digital ecosystems sculpt preferences: Social platforms have become the primary discovery channels, often before traditional advertising or in-store experiences.

• Value and velocity matter: Quick commerce thrives not just on speed, but on the agility to match emerging micro-trends with instant fulfilment.

In other words, growth is not just about how big the market becomes, but how fast and how differently it is being experienced.