Did Sephora time its annual sale to take advantage of election ‘doom spending’?

Feeling burned out after an exhausting election season? Are you perhaps depressed that your candidate didn’t win? Boy, does Sephora have a sale for you.

Sephora’s biannual sale is here. While Ulta hands out coupons regularly, Sephora is judicious with its discounts to maintain its reputation for offering high-end makeup and skincare. So if you’re a fan of products like Summer Fridays TikTok-famous lip butter balm, or Youth to the People’s best-selling facial cleanser, it’s a rare opportunity to get these items at a discount.

Beauty junkies across the country marked their calendars for the Sephora Savings Event, which is happening from November 1 to 11 this year. It is particularly well-timed because it dovetailed with the run-up to the election, Election Day itself, and then the aftermath. It’s unclear whether it was strategically timed to coincide with what would inevitably be a stressful period for Americans; last year, the sale occurred a week earlier, in late October. (Sephora did not respond to our request for comment by the time of publication.)

Whatever the case, it’s an example of how good Sephora has become at tapping into consumers’ desire to find solace and escape in the world of beauty. Sephora thrived in the pandemic era, as consumers drowned their sorrows in self-care rituals like masking and wearing perfumes. And in the post-pandemic era, it has been adept at responding to beauty trends—and sometimes even manufacturing trends, like its current marketing of soft, blurred skin it is calling the “matte renaissance.”

All of this has been a formula for financial success. While Sephora’s parent company, LVMH, does not break out sales for individual companies in its portfolio, it said that the retailer had “another record-breaking year for revenue and profit” in 2023. It is likely to do so again in 2024.

Stress Shopping

The past few months have taken a psychological toll on Americans. In a survey from October, the American Psychological Association found that 69% of Americans were experiencing significant stress as a result of the presidential election. Now that the election is over, millions of Americans are disappointed that Kamala Harris lost; many are worried about what a second Donald Trump presidency will look like. Exit polls reveal that 63% of women under 29 voted for Kamala Harris. This happens to align squarely with Sephora’s customer demographics.

To cope with anxiety, depression, and uncertainty, some Americans are turning to retail therapy. A report from Intuit Credit Karma found that 27% of polled consumers are “doom spending,” which refers to shopping despite concerns about the economy, including inflation, increased cost of living, and unaffordable housing. This behavior is particularly common among younger consumers: 37% of Gen Z, and 39% of millennials say they’re spending money to self-soothe.

Part of Sephora’s success has come from transforming the act of shopping for beauty products into an immersive experience. This was clear at “Sephoria,” its annual beauty festival held this year in Atlanta. More than 50 Sephora brands created elaborate booths at the event where attendees could explore new products and get free samples. More than 8,000 people attended the sold-out event, which cost between $135 and $420 to attend.

Sephora’s stores aim to offer a similar experience of allowing consumers to escape from reality. More than 300 brands fill Sephora’s shelves with colorful, beautifully packaged products. They’re constantly adding new products to their lines, meaning there is always the possibility of discovering something new when you step inside.

The Lipstick Index

In the midst of election anxiety, it makes sense for consumers to flock to a beauty retailer. Sephora sells many products that are coded as a form of self-care, from bath soaks to CBD-infused face oils to tools that give you a massage while you’re applying body butters.

And even though Sephora specializes in the high end of the beauty market, many consumers perceive skincare and makeup to be relatively inexpensive purchases. For $100, you can leave the store with several products. Leonard Lauder, chairman of Estée Lauder, famously coined the term lipstick index to describe how sales of cosmetics tend to go up during recessions because they are a substitute for more expensive purchases like clothing or shoes.

This is also why younger consumers, who have less disposable income, have turned to Sephora in recent years. While Sephora tries to reach consumers of all ages, it has proven particularly adept at reaching young people. Over the summer, tweens flocked to Sephora to load up on brands like Drunk Elephant.

Sephora’s best-selling brands have been particularly popular with teens and twentysomethings. Among its top-selling brands last year was Rare Beauty, a makeup line targeting Gen Z. It was founded by Selena Gomez and also has a social mission of helping to support mental health. This year, it was supplanted by Sol de Janeiro, a body care brand that that is constantly trending among beauty influencers on TikTok and particularly resonates with Gen Z.

So don’t be surprised if the young women in your life head to the Sephora sale to stock up on face masks and serums in the days ahead. Many of them are having a hard time, and Sephora has become the place to go to for a quick hit of dopamine.