Brandwave

Beauty retailers:Which brands are most popular in search?

In August 2026, Sephora was the most searched among beauty retailers worldwide, with an estimated 16.6M branded searches and 58.7% estimated Share of Search within this set. These are worldwide searches for English-language branded terms.

Share of Search, August 2026
  1. Sephora58.7%
  2. Boots21.7%
  3. Ulta Beauty14.5%
  4. MECCA3.5%
  5. Cult Beauty1.6%

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Share of SearchLeaderboard

Compare the retailers people buy beauty products from. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time.

Share of Search among beauty retailers worldwide, by month

Share of Search by month for Sephora, Boots, Ulta Beauty, MECCA. The figures are in the table below the chart.

View monthly share of search table
MonthSephoraBootsUlta BeautyMECCACult Beauty
Oct 202552.5%28.9%12.9%3.9%1.7%
Nov 202564.6%19.4%10.6%3.2%2.1%
Dec 202558.8%21.6%14.5%3.5%1.6%
Jan 202658.5%21.6%14.4%3.5%1.9%
Feb 202655%24.7%13.5%4.9%1.8%
Mar 202658.3%21.5%14.4%4.3%1.6%
Apr 202658.5%21.6%14.4%3.5%1.9%
May 202653.8%24.2%16.2%4%1.8%
Jun 202654%24.3%16.2%4%1.5%
Jul 202654%24.3%16.2%4%1.5%
Aug 202658.7%21.7%14.5%3.5%1.6%
Sep 2026—————

This month’s ranking, August 2026

  1. 1.Sephora

    58.7%

    Held 1st. 16.6M estimated branded searches, +22.1% vs prior month. Share +4.7 points.

  2. 2.Boots

    21.7%

    Held 2nd. 6.1M estimated branded searches, 0% vs prior month. Share -2.7 points.

  3. Held 3rd. 4.1M estimated branded searches, 0% vs prior month. Share -1.8 points.

  4. 4.MECCA

    3.5%

    Held 4th. 1M estimated branded searches, 0% vs prior month. Share -0.4 points.

  5. Held 5th. 450K estimated branded searches, +22.3% vs prior month. Share +0.1 points.

Compare search popularity between leading brands

Which brand is most popular in search among beauty retailers worldwide?

In August 2026, Sephora was the most searched among beauty retailers worldwide, with an estimated 16.6M branded searches and 58.7% estimated Share of Search within this set. Boots is in 2nd place, 37.1 percentage points behind at 21.7% Share of Search.

Global beauty retailers, last 12 months ending September 2026
BrandShare of SearchPeakLowRank
Sephora52.5% → 58.7%64.6%Nov 202552.5%Oct 20251st
Boots28.9% → 21.7%28.9%Oct 202519.4%Nov 20252nd
Ulta Beauty12.9% → 14.5%16.2%Jun 202610.6%Nov 20253rd
MECCA3.9% → 3.5%4.9%Feb 20263.2%Nov 20254th
Cult Beauty1.7% → 1.6%2.1%Nov 20251.5%Jun 20265th

Each finding as a sentence

  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Sephora’s estimated Share of Search among beauty retailers worldwide increased from 52.5% to 58.7%.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Boots’ estimated Share of Search among beauty retailers worldwide decreased from 28.9% to 21.7%.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Ulta Beauty’s estimated Share of Search among beauty retailers worldwide increased from 12.9% to 14.5%.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Sephora’s estimated Share of Search among beauty retailers worldwide peaked at 64.6% in November 2025 and was lowest at 52.5% in October 2025.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Boots’ estimated Share of Search among beauty retailers worldwide peaked at 28.9% in October 2025 and was lowest at 19.4% in November 2025.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Ulta Beauty’s estimated Share of Search among beauty retailers worldwide peaked at 16.2% in June 2026 and was lowest at 10.6% in November 2025.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, MECCA’s estimated Share of Search among beauty retailers worldwide peaked at 4.9% in February 2026 and was lowest at 3.2% in November 2025.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, MECCA and Cult Beauty held steady: their estimated Share of Search among beauty retailers worldwide each moved less than 0.5 percentage points.

How did search popularity change for beauty retailers worldwide in August 2026?

  1. In August 2026, Sephora gained estimated Share of Search among beauty retailers worldwide, from 54% to 58.7%.

  2. In August 2026, Boots lost estimated Share of Search among beauty retailers worldwide, from 24.3% to 21.7%.

  3. In August 2026, Ulta Beauty lost estimated Share of Search among beauty retailers worldwide, from 16.2% to 14.5%.

  4. Estimated monthly branded searches for Cult Beauty worldwide fell 18.2% over 11 measured months, from 550K to 450K in August 2026.

  5. Estimated monthly branded searches for MECCA worldwide fell 18% over 11 measured months, from 1.2M to 1M in August 2026.

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