Five Fashion and Beauty Marketing Trends 2025

The fashion and beauty world has always been fast-paced, but with tech and cultural changes rapidly altering customer expectations, the speed at which these industries are moving is only increasing. For those contributing to the rapid cycle of fast fashion, the pressure is even greater to reach consumers across multiple touchpoints and stay top of mind across several digital environments.

As more direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands hit the market every week, the key to an effective marketing campaign is no longer about who has the most budget or the most striking advertising. Instead, consumers are drawn to authentic storytelling in formats that align with these visually-driven industries, like social media and display advertising. This means that fashion and beauty brands must be more agile and strategic in their marketing to meet these new demands.

Trend 1: The Power of Visual Storytelling and Authentic Content in Fashion and Beauty

“Content is king” has long been the cry of many a marketer, and while that’s still true in 2025, it doesn’t look the same as it once did. Fashion and beauty especially must be relatable, particularly when appealing to a Gen Z and millennial audience who now make up, in many cases, the largest proportion of the customer base.

An uncertain economic outlook, along with the growth of “real life” social media, has seen a shift from polished perfection in fashion and beauty advertising to more realistic and transparent campaigns. Documentary-style, high-quality content has become increasingly popular in everything from campaign billboards to TikTok posts from fashion and beauty brands.

Influencers play a significant role in these industries and have for many years, but this, too, has been shifting in recent years. Rather than solely relying on macro-influencers with thousands, if not millions, of followers, brands are now looking to collaborate with micro and nano influencers who have a much smaller following, but highly loyal audiences. With these smaller accounts comes a sense of authenticity, so brands can focus on niches previously unexplored. The proliferation of user-generated content (UGC) also continues to build both social proof and community trust. On top of that, many influencers are also becoming affiliates, with some even running their own ads in collaboration with brands.

Short-form videos, like TikTok and Instagram Reels, are providing fashion and beauty brands the opportunity to bring users behind the scenes, making customers feel seen and heard while giving them insight into their favorite brands in a new way. For small to medium businesses in these industries, compelling storytelling rooted in authenticity is the key to effective marketing. Leveraging UGC and influencer content alongside this is a beneficial strategy for improving both engagement and conversion.

Native advertising, too, continues to be a powerful tool for fashion and beauty marketers. German cosmetics brand Bedrop saw a 77% increase in revenue and a 33% increase in website sessions after embracing native advertising on the open web. Increasingly, brands are using these native and display placements to amplify visual storytelling at scale, reaching customers in high-impacts environments where they’re actively engaging with this content.

Stats you should know about authentic marketing in fashion and beauty:

• 85% of Gen Z consumers say that authenticity is important when choosing a brand to support.
• 71% of Gen Z consumers have been influenced to make a beauty purchase because of a TikTok video.

Trend 2: The Dominance of Social Commerce and Live Shopping in Fashion and Beauty

Social commerce has become the new storefront, with platforms like TikTok Shop and Instagram Checkout blending content and commerce seamlessly. These channels have become as important as brand websites for those in the fashion and beauty industries: Live shopping events have become major revenue drivers, offering an interactive experience for customers to ask questions and make purchases in real time.

For businesses looking to integrate a social commerce aspect into their marketing this year, it’s vital that the infrastructure is put in place to make this successful. Product tags should be included in all posts, directing users straight to the social shop to make a purchase. Livestreams — already popular in the Asia-Pacific region, but starting to emerge elsewhere too — should become exclusive events, offering scheduled product drops or a livestream-exclusive discount or bonus. Using platform-native formats, like TikTok’s live cart integration, can also boost revenue when launching a social commerce aspect to your business.

Digital advertisers can also blend both organic and paid posts as part of a hybrid social commerce marketing strategy. Running boosted live sessions or retargeting via certain platforms can reduce customer acquisition costs (CAC) while increasing return-on-ad-spend (ROAS).

Outside of social platforms themselves, display and native advertising placements are supporting these social-first strategies through promoting live events, new launches, and social shopping opportunities.

Social commerce stats you should know for 2025:

• The global social commerce market is expected to grow to more than $2 trillion by the end of 2025.
• 76% of customers will buy from a brand they feel connected to on social media.
• Nearly 44% of U.S. TikTok users bought something from TikTok Shop within the last year.

Trend 3: Personalization and Inclusive Marketing in Fashion and Beauty

Consumers have come to expect a high level of personalization in the marketing they see — gone are the days of simply “Hi [First Name],” in an email. With dynamic tools that enable data to be shared and leveraged across different platforms, product recommendations, landing pages, and even predictive design can be incorporated into a personalized marketing campaign.

Tools like AI-powered quizzes, along with more traditional digital marketing data sources like website and social media traffic and behavior, can be used to map demographics with purchase history to ensure that recommendations are as personalized as possible.

Not only is personalization important, but so is inclusivity. This is no longer accepted as an afterthought or a campaign gimmick, but instead a baseline expectation from fashion and beauty customers. Brands that show a diverse range of ethnicities, body types, gender identities, and appearances are typically seeing stronger engagement and a deeper sense of brand loyalty among customers. It’s essential that this is reflected across both ad creative and messaging for a successful campaign.

The numbers don’t lie when it comes to inclusivity and diversity in fashion and beauty marketing in 2025:

• Brands that prioritize diversity outperform their peers by 36%.
• Sales increased by 15% for small to medium businesses who used AI-personalization in their fashion and beauty brands in 2024, over 2023.
• 75% of customers said they’re more likely to shop with inclusive brands than those that aren’t.

Trend 4: Leveraging Augmented Reality and Virtual Try-Ons in Fashion and Beauty

When it comes to new technology, augmented and virtual reality (AR and VR) have changed the shopping experience for many customers. Beauty brands are using these tools to let customers virtually try on lipstick shades or foundation in real time, helping them make purchases that suit them best. The fashion industry is also experimenting with virtual fitting rooms, where customers can see how an outfit would look on their body without ever trying anything on.

Platforms like Instagram, Shopify, and BigCommerce are all making this possible with easy access to AR tools, with many offering integration directly onto product pages. Not only are these fun ways for customers to play with products in a way that works for them, but it also reduces return rates anywhere from 5% or more when customers know for sure that a product is what they’re looking for.

Advertisers can also use AR try-on functionality in ads, through tools like shoppable AR lenses, to boost ad engagement. Not only that, but one of the biggest benefits to this type of technology is the sustainability practices it can help support (more on that later). Immersive experiences housed within native placements are sparking curiosity among consumers at the top of the funnel, where discovery is a critical goal.

AR and VR allow brands to put together virtual product displays for customers, rather than having a physical display where test products are used before a purchase decision is made. This prevents excess waste while helping to keep costs lower and focused on inventory for sale.

AR shopping stats you need to know in 2025:

• 61% of shoppers prefer to use retailers that have an AR experience.
• AR is predicted to grow to over $9 billion by 2032.
• AR and VR in the beauty industry is projected to grow by over 25% before 2027.

Trend 5: The Role of Sustainability and Ethical Practices in Fashion and Beauty

In an ongoing climate crisis and concerns around the sourcing of the goods we bring into our homes, consumers are increasingly voting with their wallets and choosing to support brands that align with their values. Resale, refill, and recycle are all buzzwords being used in the fashion and beauty industries more regularly, with movements toward slow fashion and clean beauty picking up traction in the last few years.

How do brands communicate their efforts toward being more sustainable and ethical, though? Transparency is essential: This means clear web pages dedicated to sustainability and product origins, along with reports demonstrating clear intent to be more ethical and sustainable. Some beauty and fashion brands have taken steps to become Fair Trade or certified B Corps, meeting strict standards around ethics and sustainability over both their products and how their businesses operate.

Visual branding is one of the best ways to quickly communicate this in stores and online. Leaping Bunny certification for beauty brands can be added to product packaging, along with B Corp status. QR codes linking back to sustainability web pages can also be a helpful tool for keeping customers informed and aware.

Sustainability stats for beauty and fashion businesses in 2025:

• 62% of Gen Z shoppers prefer to buy from sustainable brands.
• 73% of customers are willing to pay more for sustainable products.
• 60% of beauty shoppers say that eco-friendly packaging has influenced a purchasing decision.

Key Takeaways

The goal for fashion and beauty brands in 2025 shouldn’t be to chase every new trend, but instead take intentional steps to promote their products to an ever-changing customer base. Authenticity, inclusivity, interactivity, and sustainability should be the foundation to any marketing campaign, helping you drive greater ROI and build long-term trust with your community.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What are the most effective digital advertising channels for fashion and beauty in 2025?

Visual channels such as display, video, and social are some of the most effective channels for marketing in these industries in 2025. This is demonstrated by the explosive growth in TikTok, Instagram Reels, and Pinterest. Live video commerce platforms like TikTok can also help drive both traffic and revenue. Display ads are also proving to be a powerful tool for brands to interact with consumers between discovery and purchase.

How can fashion and beauty brands build brand loyalty online?

By creating engaging, personalized content with inclusive models and transparent values, fashion and beauty brands can build a strong customer base and long-term loyalty online.

What are some successful examples of digital fashion and beauty campaigns?

Campaigns such as Fenty Beauty’s UGC foundation challenge and Glossier’s customer-driven storytelling are two of the best recent examples of fashion and beauty brands creating authentic, community-first marketing content. Using both platform-first and advertiser-first data, businesses in these industries are able to effectively segment their campaign audiences to target more specifically and upsell across different audience groupings by factors such as gender identity, and retargeting for abandoned carts or based on browsing history.

How is AI impacting the fashion and beauty marketing landscape?

AI is powering tools that allow businesses in these industries to further personalize content and give customers the opportunity to try items before making a purchase. Chatbots are supporting customer service teams, while predictive analytics and customer segmentation from gathering data is helping marketing teams tailor campaigns and boost performance.

What are the key metrics for measuring success in fashion and beauty digital marketing?

Return on ad spend (ROAS), customer acquisition cost (CAC), conversion rates, product return rates, and customer lifetime value are some of the most important metrics to track in fashion and beauty.