“One in five Amazon customers buys K-beauty ... Plenty of untapped markets to explore”

[Financial News] “Four out of five Amazon customers have never bought K-beauty. That means there are still many untapped markets.”
Shin Hwa-sook, head of Amazon Global Selling Korea, emphasized at ‘Amazon Beauty in Seoul 2026,’ held at the Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, on the 27th, that “K-beauty has become a global industry, going beyond a passing trend,” adding that “this is an important time to increase the number of successful brands and create sustained customer demand.”
Amazon is considered a leading sales platform for K-beauty overseas, including in the United States. K-beauty sales on Amazon have grown roughly twofold each year since 2024, and 44% of the value of K-beauty sales in the U.S. last year came through Amazon.
Shin emphasized brand development as a strategy to accelerate K-beauty’s growth. The analysis is that other brands are growing alongside Medicube, APR’s beauty brand, which ranked No. 1 among all search terms on Amazon this year, helping expand K-beauty’s influence.
He said, “The number of leading brands, including Anua, Biodance and Celimax, is increasing alongside Medicube, and their growth rates are keeping pace,” adding, “The healthy growth of the brand portfolio is a factor that strengthens K-beauty’s sustainability.”
Amazon’s K-beauty development project unveiled today also focuses on brand growth. It will provide dedicated support, from product planning to logistics and marketing, to help 50 brands joining next year reach $1 million in sales in their first year on the platform. It will select seven leading brands, draw up joint business plans with them over three years, and collaborate across operations, including orders, pricing and product launches. It will also expand the K-beauty category into hair care and wellness and step up regulatory support to help brands expand into Europe.
Growth is also surging in Europe, the Middle East and Australia, beyond the U.S., which accounts for the largest share of Amazon’s K-beauty sales. During Amazon Prime Day last June, K-beauty sales growth in Europe, the Middle East and Australia also outpaced the U.S. growth rate.
Amazon signaled a strong response to the issue of counterfeit K-beauty products. Shin said, “We take this very seriously, as it not only undermines customers’ experience with brands but also affects their trust in where they shop,” adding, “We will make active use of artificial intelligence (AI) in line with our zero-tolerance policy and communicate directly with major brands.”
Amazon is also using AI to spot trends and, based on those insights, launching Amazon-exclusive products with brands. It has introduced 28 products this year alone.


[email protected] Kang Myeong-yeon Reporter