Quarterly Commerce Marketing Benchmarks for Personal Care Brands
Overview and KPIs
Personal Care brands operate in a routine-driven, replenishment-focused category where shoppers move between research, discovery, and purchase across digital touchpoints. Understanding when, where, and how shoppers express purchase intent is critical to capturing demand, optimizing media spend, and driving repeat purchase.
MikMak’s quarterly Personal Care commerce marketing benchmarks provide a data-backed view of brand media trends, retailers displayed, and shopper intent across key global markets, helping brands contextualize performance and refine commerce-enabled activations across owned and paid channels.
This Q4 benchmark analysis is based on MikMak Shopping Index* data from October 1 to December 31, 2025.
The following proprietary MikMak Commerce KPIs were used:
- Purchase Intent Clicks
Measures high-intent shopper traffic by counting the number of times a shopper clicks through to at least one retailer during a single session within MikMak Commerce-enabled brand content. - Purchase Intent Rate
Measures the percentage of shoppers who click through to at least one retailer within MikMak Commerce-enabled brand content, signaling a strong conversion likelihood.
Q4 Personal Care Commerce Marketing Highlights
- Seasonal peaks vary: US peaks in late summer; Canada peaks at year-end; Europe shows diverse spring/summer peaks.
- Brand website conversion scores high: Owned channels present strong conversion potential among highly qualified, lower-funnel shoppers across all markets.
- Media drives discovery: Search leads in most markets; paid social/video support inspiration and early-funnel engagement.
- Retailer dominance differs: Marketplaces lead in North America; pharmacies and specialty chains are key in Europe.
United States
When looking at the full year, US Personal Care shopper intent increased steadily through the first half of 2025, accelerating into summer and peaking in late Q3.
Activity softened toward year-end, indicating that Personal Care promotions and shopper demand are less driven by holiday gifting than categories like Beauty.
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Brand websites capture shopper intent; media fuels discovery
Across 2025, Purchase Intent Rates were higher on brand websites than media, reflecting that owned channels capture more qualified, lower-funnel shoppers. Media, however, drives discovery, repeat-purchase reminders, and incremental reach.
Given the habitual nature of Personal Care, commerce-enabled media provides a key opportunity to capture intent earlier and influence repeat purchase behavior at scale.
Paid social and video lead media-driven shopper traffic
In Q4, paid social drove the largest share of media-based Purchase Intent Clicks, supported by paid video and search. This underscores brands' strategies and the role of visually engaging formats in driving discovery and consideration, while search captures high-intent replenishment demand.
Meta and Google dominated, with YouTube and TikTok supporting discovery, emphasizing the benefit of combining shoppable social, video, and commerce-enabled search across the Personal Care journey.
Mass and omnichannel retailers lead Personal Care purchase paths
Amazon and Walmart captured the majority of Personal Care Purchase Intent Clicks, underscoring the category’s reliance on mass and convenience-driven retail.
Target followed as a strong omnichannel player, while pharmacy retailers like CVS and Walgreens highlight the importance of health-adjacent purchase occasions.
This mix reinforces the value of providing shoppers seamless access across all major retailer destinations.
Canada
When looking at the full year, Canadian Personal Care shopper intent followed a more gradual build than the US, accelerating in the second half of the year and peaking in Q4.
November and December captured the highest shares of Purchase Intent Clicks, indicating stronger year-end brand promotions and demand shaped by seasonal routines, winter-specific needs, and stock-up behavior.
Brand websites drive conversions, media captures early-stage demand
Across 2025, Purchase Intent Rates were higher on brand websites, reflecting stronger conversion readiness among highly qualified shoppers.
Media, however, plays a key role in discovery, reaching shoppers earlier in the journey, especially as many move directly from media to retailers rather than brand sites.
Search and social jointly drive shopper discovery
In Q4, media-driven Purchase Intent Clicks in Canada were distributed across search and social, with organic search leading, followed closely by paid social and paid search. This balanced mix reflects a combination of research-led behavior and active brand investment in social discovery.
Google and Meta captured the majority of shopper traffic, while TikTok and ChatGPT also appeared, signaling early opportunities to reach shoppers through newer discovery environments alongside established platforms.
Retailer mix reflects mass and pharmacy leadership
Walmart led Personal Care Purchase Intent Clicks in Canada, followed closely by Shoppers Drug Mart and Amazon.
Pharmacy retailers Jean Coutu and London Drugs also played a meaningful role, underscoring brand promotion and shopper reliance on trusted mass and pharmacy destinations for routine Personal Care needs.
United Kingdom
Over the year, UK Personal Care shopper intent grew through spring and early summer, peaking in July and August. Activity softened in Q4, with lower shares in November and December, suggesting that brands' promotions and demand are driven more by routine usage, seasonal needs, and summer behaviors than by holiday gifting. Lower year-end activity may also reflect reduced investment in shoppable media.
Brand websites capture conversions, media fuels early discovery
Across 2025, Purchase Intent Rates were higher on brand websites, reflecting the high conversion potential of owned channels for qualified, lower-funnel shoppers
Media, however, remains essential for driving early-stage discovery and traffic, especially as many Personal Care shoppers move directly from media to retail rather than brand-owned destinations.
Search dominates media-driven shopper traffic
In Q4, UK media-driven Purchase Intent Clicks were primarily driven by organic and paid search, highlighting research-led shopper behavior and strong brand investment in commerce-enabled search.
Google captured the majority of activity, reinforcing its role in high-intent Personal Care discovery. Paid social contributed a smaller share, reflecting more limited use of shoppable social campaigns compared with search.
Retailer mix reflects mass and specialty leadership
Amazon led UK Personal Care Purchase Intent Clicks in Q4, followed by Boots, highlighting the role of both marketplaces and specialty retail. Superdrug, along with grocery retailers like Asda and Tesco, also contributed, showing shoppers’ preference for convenient, trusted destinations for everyday Personal Care needs.
This mix underscores the value of broad retail coverage across marketplaces, pharmacy and specialty retailers, and grocery to reach shoppers where they already buy routine essentials.
France
When looking at the full year, Personal Care shopper intent in France remained relatively steady, with minor peaks in spring and early fall. This indicates demand is driven by routine replenishment, seasonal launches, and promotions rather than a single peak period.
Brand websites lead conversion likelihood, media reaches broader audiences
Across 2025, Purchase Intent Rates were higher on brand websites than media, reflecting stronger conversion readiness among highly qualified shoppers.
At the same time, media plays a key role in driving early-stage discovery and traffic, especially as many Personal Care shoppers move directly from media to retail rather than brand-owned sites.
Search dominates media-driven shopper traffic
In Q4, media-driven Purchase Intent Clicks in France were mainly driven by search, with organic search far outpacing paid search. Google captured the vast majority of activity, underscoring its central role in guiding high-intent shoppers. Paid social played a smaller role, reflecting limited use of inspiration-led shoppable campaigns during the period.
Retailer mix highlights mass and specialty leadership
Amazon led Personal Care Purchase Intent Clicks, followed by Intermarché and Nocibé. Carrefour and E.Leclerc were also among shoppers’ top choices, emphasizing the importance for brands of promoting broad retail coverage across marketplaces, mass, and specialty channels.
Germany
When looking at the full year, Personal Care shopper intent in Germany showed modest peaks in March, April, and August, reflecting routine replenishment, seasonal launches, and promotional moments. Demand remained relatively stable during the other months, without a single concentrated peak.
Brand websites lead conversion likelihood, media drives discovery
Across 2025, Purchase Intent Rates were higher on brand websites than media, reflecting stronger conversion likelihood among highly qualified shoppers.
Media, however, remains key for driving discovery and early-funnel traffic, especially as many Personal Care shoppers move directly from media to retail rather than brand-owned channels.
Search dominates media-driven shopper traffic
In Q4, media-driven Purchase Intent Clicks in Germany were primarily driven by search, with organic search capturing the majority of activity, followed by paid search.
Google dominated platform engagement, underscoring its importance for reaching high-intent Personal Care shoppers. Paid social contributed minimally, suggesting brands' limited investment in shoppable social campaigns during the period.
Retailer mix highlights drugstore and marketplace strength
In Germany, Personal Care shoppers primarily engaged with drugstore chains dm and Rossmann, followed by Amazon. Müller and Shop-Apotheke also contributed, emphasizing the importance of offering broad retail coverage across drugstore, online marketplace, and specialty channels.
Netherlands
When looking at the full year, Personal Care shopper intent in the Netherlands peaked in spring (March–April), reflecting seasonal routines, replenishment, and promotional activity. Activity gradually declined through summer and fall, with Q4 contributing a smaller share of annual intent compared to other European markets, likely influenced by lower brand investment in shoppable media toward the year-end.
Brand websites lead conversion likelihood, media supports discovery
Across 2025, Purchase Intent Rates were higher on brand websites than media, reflecting stronger conversion readiness among highly qualified shoppers.
Media played a supporting role in discovery and early funnel engagement, particularly as many Personal Care shoppers bypass brand-owned destinations and go directly to retailers.
Media mix supports discovery and research
In Q4, media-driven Purchase Intent Clicks were primarily led by organic search, followed by paid social and paid search.
Google dominated search-driven engagement, while Meta and TikTok were the main social platforms, highlighting the importance of research-led discovery combined with visual, trend-driven inspiration for Personal Care shoppers.
Retailer mix reflects marketplace and drugstore leadership
Kruidvat captured the largest share of Purchase Intent Clicks, followed by Bol and Etos, driven by brand promotion. This underscores the relevance of drugstore and marketplace retailers in the Dutch Personal Care market.
Amazon and Albert Heijn also contributed meaningfully, highlighting the value of offering shoppers broad retail choice aligned with local shopping habits.
Spain
When looking at the full year, Personal Care shopper intent in Spain peaked in March and October, reflecting seasonal routines, product launches, and promotional activity. Q4 remained relevant, driven by holiday-related purchasing, while summer months saw a relative dip in brand promotions and shopper activity.
Brand websites lead conversion likelihood, media supports discovery
Across 2025, Purchase Intent Rates were higher on brand websites than media, reflecting stronger conversion readiness among highly qualified shoppers.
Media played a supporting role in discovery and early-funnel engagement, particularly as many Personal Care shoppers move directly from media to retail rather than brand-owned destinations.
Media mix reflects search-led discovery with social support
In Q4, media-driven Purchase Intent Clicks in Spain were primarily led by paid social, followed by organic and paid search. Meta dominated social engagement, while Google was the key search platform. This mix underscores the importance of combining visually inspiring, trend-led content with research-driven discovery for Personal Care shoppers.
Retailer mix reflects mass and specialty strength
Amazon captured the largest share of Purchase Intent Clicks, followed by leading Spanish drugstore chains Druni and Primor. Department stores such as El Corte Inglés and Carrefour also contributed, emphasizing the importance for brands of promoting broad retail coverage across mass, specialty, and omnichannel destinations.
Italy
When looking at the full year, Personal Care shopper intent in Italy peaked sharply in March and April, reflecting seasonal launches, promotional campaigns, and replenishment routines. Activity was lower in the summer months and late December, indicating more concentrated demand earlier in the year.
Brand websites lead conversion likelihood, media supports discovery
Across 2025, Purchase Intent Rates were higher on brand websites than media, reflecting stronger conversion readiness among highly qualified shoppers.
Media played a supporting role in discovery and early-funnel engagement, particularly as many Personal Care shoppers move directly from media to retail rather than brand-owned destinations.
Media mix reflects search-led discovery with social support
In Q4, media-driven Purchase Intent Clicks in Italy were primarily led by organic search, followed by paid social and paid search. Google dominated the search-driven activity, while Meta was the leading social platform, highlighting the role of research-driven discovery alongside visually engaging social content.
Retailer mix highlights mass and specialty leadership
Amazon captured the largest share of Personal Care Purchase Intent Clicks, followed by specialty and pharmacy retailers such as eFarma, Farmacia Loreto, dm, and Farmaè. This mix underscores the importance for brands of promoting broad retailer coverage across online marketplaces, pharmacy chains, and specialty retailers to reach diverse shoppers in Italy.
Key Takeaways
- Seasonal planning is critical
Brands should align media and inventory strategies with local seasonal peaks while maintaining routine replenishment campaigns year-round. - Invest in shoppable media early in the funnel
Media conversion rates remain lower than brand websites, but commerce-enabled campaigns across social, search, and video capture demand earlier, influence repeat purchases, and grow first-party shopper data. - Leverage search and social for discovery and inspiration
Markets with strong search behavior (UK, France, Germany, Italy) highlight research-driven discovery, while paid social and video in the US and Spain demonstrate the power of visually engaging, inspiration-led content. - Ensure broad retail coverage
Effective Personal Care strategies combine mass marketplaces, pharmacies, specialty retailers, and omnichannel destinations. Missing key retail touchpoints risks lost sales and missed data insights, especially in markets where shoppers bypass brand websites.
Curious to see how MikMak helps brands connect marketing with commerce and unlock first-party shopper data? Schedule a demo today.
*The MikMak Shopping Index was developed to provide a standardized set of metrics, methodology, and benchmarks to help drive brands’ business results and strategy. It is a collection of key eCommerce KPIs from hundreds of brands, over 250 channels, and more than 8,000 retailer integrations worldwide, to understand consumer online shopping behavior.
