How To Build A Cosmetic Store App Like Nykaa – Business Model

It was in the year 2012 that Nykaa company was founded and ever since then it has successfully broken all milestones of success back-to-back, making its CEO one of the most influential personalities of today’s generation, who also happens to be the first woman to be the owner of a unicorn startup. The success attained by Nykaa in a short span of time is an example for all, it has proved that all you need is a great idea and consistent efforts to reach the top. Its success also proved the potential in the beauty products business. 

The revenue model of Nykaa is such a huge hit that it successfully managed to raise revenue of INR 18.6 crore in the fiscal year 2020, having an annual earning of INR 278 crore. The growth and revenue figures of Nykaa makes the increasing inclination of entrepreneurs to create a cosmetic app like Nykaa pretty evident. 

If you are wondering how Nykaa reached the position it is today and what all goes in attaining that level, in this blog we will be discussing it to give an idea about how you can also replicate the success of this number one beauty platform. The article explains the Nykaa business and revenue model & the features that make Nykaa unique and how you can also build a successful Cosmetic app.

How Did Nykaa Start?

The idea to create an app for Cosmetic & beauty products came to the mind of its founder Falguni Nayar when she first visited a Sephora store and loved their user experience as the staff offered her personalized product suggestions and demonstrated how to use the products. She figured out there Indian market needed an eCommerce brand that deals in beauty products for women. And this thought invented Nykaa in 2012 and the brand received its first order on October 24, 2012. Its eCommerce app succeeded in tapping the right market-making wide-ranging products easily accessible. The brand sourced the products from original Indian and international brands, and in 2015, it began opening its physical stores hence giving an omnichannel presence to itself. Today, Nykaa receives more than 13,00,000 orders per month and sells around 104 products per minute.

Here We Describe Nykaa’s Journey So Far

• In 2012, founder Falguni Nayar started this eCommerce app for beauty and wellness.
• In 2015, Nykaa launched its collection of in-house beauty products via Nykaa Cosmetics.
• In the same year, Nykaa gained an omnichannel presence with its first physical store.

• In 2018, Nykaa launched its new verticals, Nykaa Man and Nykaa Fashion
• In 2019, Nykaa went on to acquire 20dresses.com and it also launched its first celebrity partnership brand Kay Beauty
• In 2020, the brand raised 100 crores from Steadview Capital and made an entry in the list of Unicorn Startups
• In 2021, Nykaa Fashion successfully acquired the Indian fashion jewelry brand, Pipa Bella

As of 2021, Nykaa successfully built a loyal customer base with 72% repeat customers on monthly basis and is counted among the most successful eCommerce apps offering multiple services. 

Market Size & Statistics Of Cosmetic Beauty Products

These figures clearly state that the on-demand solutions for the beauty and wellness industry are much needed at the moment and this is why this is the right industry to invest in today. 

During the pandemic, the global cosmetic market registered a rise of 8 percent as compared to 2019, with its dominant products being perfumes, hair care, deodorants, make-up, toiletries, and oral cosmetics. Also, skincare is the most profit-generating segment in the market and it is estimated to generate around 177 billion USD in 2025. In case, you are willing to create a beauty and cosmetic app, then hiring a cosmetic store app development company would be your best bet looking at the expertise you will have in making a quality and robust app. 

How Does Cosmetic Store App Work? 

Nykaa integrates an inventory-based business model which allows the brand to ensure the availability of quality and genuine products to its users. Insert Nykaa business model image 

Nykaa purchases its products directly from manufacturers or brands and then lists them on its website and eCommerce app. Then these products are stored at its warehouses at various locations including Mumbai, New Delhi, and Bangalore. The orders can be placed by the Nykaa users at its website the eCommerce app or its physical stores. Nykaa’s inventory-based business model allows high-profit margins for online retailers.

As the products are directly sourced from brands or manufacturers, the product authenticity is guaranteed, and this allows Nykaa to earn customer trust which results in higher sales from the returning customers. 

The Business Model Of Nykaa Focuses On A Wide Consumer Base And It Can Be Summed Up As: 

• Consumers who are looking for brand-specific or category-specific beauty products.
• Consumers who desire an online marketplace meet all their beauty products requirements.

The Specific Categories Of Nykaa Customers Are Explained As: 

• Active Product Seekers: These users belong to the age group of 19-25 years requiring advice on cosmetic products. 
• Busy Schedule Shoppers: These users are the office-goers falling in the age group of 27-45 years who know what products they require. They usually have quite a hectic schedule that allows them little time to shop. 
• Beauty Conscious: These are the customers in the age group of 25-45 years who consciously work on their beauty and style, spending a lot of time browsing the latest beauty trends. 
• Brand Seekers: These are brand-specific customers who are already familiar with international brands and are constantly seeking them.

And in recent years, Nykaa has ventured into Nykaa Man, Nykaa Fashion, Nykaa Pro, and Nykaa Luxe, hence its business model has expanded to new consumer bases, consisting of: 

• Men, who are looking to easily access grooming products during their busy schedule.
• Fashion-centric users who are looking for the latest collection from wide-ranging brands & designers.
• Professionals, like beauticians, makeup artists, salons, are looking for professional beauty products at discounted rates. 
• Customers who look for products from premium & luxury Indian and international brands. 

How Does The Cosmetic Store App Generate Revenue?

There Are A Number Of Business Models That Are Usually Followed By The Cosmetic Store Apps, They Can Be:

• Own Product Range:In the case of Nykaa, it earns a great deal of its revenue by selling the products of partner brands and its own range of products. This can be a good earning method for a beauty and wellness brand, ensuring great income.
• Sales Commission:A lot of earnings can be made via sales commission like Nykaa reported an income of INR 8.8 crore from the commissions in the fiscal year 2019.
• Ad Management: The online cosmetic store apps also use this revenue model where it earns its money from the banner advertisement of the partner brands on its app, website, and eCommerce stores. 
• Parallel Sales: The on-demand cosmetic store apps can also have earnings from parallel sales. Like in the case of Nykaa, it has additional revenue streams via its parallel services like Nykaa Fashion and Nykaa Man.

Services Offered By Beauty Cosmetic eCommerce App Like Nykaa

The Nykaa Brand Is Offering A Number Of Services, Such As:

• Beauty & Cosmetic Products: Here the Nykaa app, deals in beauty and wellness products including makeup, body care, personal hygiene, etc. 
• Male Fashion: The brand has introduced Nykaa Man, which is an on-demand eCommerce platform specifically dealing in grooming products for men.
• Female Fashion: This on-demand eCommerce platform introduced by Nykaa, ‘Nykaa Fashion’ focuses on designer and branded fashion products, like clothes, footwear, accessories, etc.  
• Pro-Membership:This exclusive membership program is offering special offers, discounts, and educational content to makeup artists, salons, and beauticians. 
• Nykaa Luxe: This is an app introduced by Nykaa that deals in luxury products from premium brands.
• Nykaa On-Trend Stores: This again is a recent Nykaa offering, where it offers beauty and makeup products from the trending brands and their professional staff guides the customers to find the right product that suits their personality.  

Top Beauty & Cosmetic Store App Across The World

1. Nykaa: Beauty Shopping App

2. Purplle Online Beauty Shopping

3. Sephora: Buy Makeup & Skincare

4. Ulta Beauty: Shop Makeup, Skin, Hair & Perfume

5. MyGlamm: Shop Makeup Products & Beauty Cosmetics

6. IPSY: Makeup, Beauty, & Tips

7. SUGAR Cosmetics: Buy Beauty Products Online

8. CosmoProf Beauty

9. Colour Pops Beauty & Cosmetics

10. The Body Shop

Why Nykaa Is Popular – Attributes Of Successful Cosmetic Store Mobile App?

Nykaa is dedicated to providing its users with authentic products at affordable rates. Its unique propositions set it apart from the other eCommerce apps, like:

• Wide Range Of Products: Nykaa offers wide-ranging products from home-grown Indian brands to premium and luxury International brands. This way, it caters the audience of all kinds. 
• Friendly UX/UI: The app has a user-friendly app interface that allows its users to easily browse through its app and the website. It is easy to find products the app users are looking for and it enhances the user experience of the users.
• Shipping Tracking: The app allows its users to track their shipment from within the app, and this is a functionality that is highly appreciated by the users, as they like to have full knowledge of the whereabouts of their shipment. 
• Schedule Shipping: Often it happens that the customer might be going out of town in the coming days or would be too busy to be at one particular location to receive the shipment. To resolve this issue, Nykaa allows its users to schedule the product delivery or change of address lest necessary. This makes it easy for buyers to receive orders. 
• Fast Delivery: Nykaa allows its users to schedule fast delivery in case they urgently need the order.
• Easy Product Return & Refund: Often it might happen that users are not satisfied with a purchase, so for this, the app offers easy product return and the amount is refunded once the product reaches the warehouse and has been inspected.
• COD Option: There are multiple payment modes offered by the app, but most users appreciate is Cash-on-delivery option, where the users can make the payment once the product is received by them.
• Tempting Referral Programs: Nykaa offers tempting referral programs and it has helped the brand in building a loyal consumer base.
• Beauty Guides & Blogs: Often it happens that a customer is interested in buying a makeup or skincare product but doesn’t have a good knowledge of how to use it. To resolve this dilemma, Nykaa offers beauty guides and blogs that describe how to use the products. 

Top Features To Consider To Develop A Cosmetic eCommerce App Like Nykaa

• Social Sign in/Signup: It can be great for a cosmetic eCommerce app to be integrated with different social media channels as it helps in enhancing consumer interactions. One easy way to do it is to allow social sign-in and signup to the app, where the users can start using the app using their social media platforms, like Facebook, Twitter, etc.
• Push Notification: This is a function used to send alerts and notifications to the app users, regarding their shipment, order confirmation, or to send other useful information.  
• Product Recommendation: It is useful for a Cosmetic eCommerce app to offer professional beauty advice and product recommendations to its users as they like this kind of personalized service.
• Voice Assistance: This feature saves users from the hassle of typing in their requirements as they can simply use their voice to search for the desired products or services. 
• Multiple Payment: The on-demand Cosmetic apps can be integrated with multiple payment options so that app users can make the payment at their convenience.
• Video Shopping: This video online shopping feature that can allow the users to check in real-time how a product looks on them using virtual assistance. 
• Loyalty Program: The loyalty program ensures the app users stay loyal to the app using the rewards and discounts. This is a good way to keep the users glued to the app like allows them to track their cashback & reward points so they can easily use them on their next order. 
• Real-Time Dashboards: Here the information is automatically updated on the app dashboard in real-time using the most current data available. This allows the business to keep track of the sales and overall business performance. 
• Real-time Analytics: The real-time data or information is often used for tracking or navigation or to make quick decisions using the real-time information. This is why this feature is widely used in on-demand cosmetic store apps.
• Inventory Management: This feature is useful to keep track of out-of-stock products, so they can be time stocked in the back.
• Product Information Management: This is a feature that is useful for an eCommerce cosmetic store brand as it allows to manage the product information of all the products displayed on the Nykaa app or its website.
• Warehouse Management: This is a functionality that can be helpful to be integrated by an on-demand cosmetic brand as it focuses on the safe storage of cosmetic products within a building.  
• Logistics Management: This functionality when integrated by an on-demand Cosmetic store business helps in organizing the storage and distribution of goods.
• Account & Tax Management: A good account and tax management functionality is crucial for an on-demand cosmetic brand as it is useful to comply with provisions of Income Tax Law and its allied rules. Account & Tax Management feature is useful to avoid payment of interest, prosecution, penalty, etc. 

What Tech Stack Is Required To Create An eCommerce App Like Nykaa?

What Team Structure Is needed To Develop A Beauty Store App Like Nykaa?

It is advised to hire an app development company that aces at creating high-performing apps for different genres. Look for a reputed firm that boasts of a great app development team consisting of:

• Project manager
• Android/iOS Developers
• Back-end Developers
• UX/UI Designers
• Quality Analysts
• Delivery Manager

How Much Does It Cost To Develop Beauty & Cosmetic Store App Like Nykaa?

There are a number of factors on which the cost of developing an app depends such as the features integrated into the app, the number of platforms the app is developed for, country chosen to get the app developed as the hourly app development rates differs as per the region of the app development company, and also the experience and expertise of the app development team that is associated with the firm.

As It Comes To The Region Of The Development Team, The Hourly Development Rates Differ, Such As:

• In the USA, the app development cost is between $150-$180/hour
• In Europe, the app development cost is between $120-$150/hour
• In the Middle East, the app development cost is between $100-120/hour
• In Southeast Asia, the app development cost is $50-$75/hour

If you are looking to create a high-performing on-demand Cosmetic store app, then you can get in touch with our app development team who can help you with the app development process.