Sephora’s return to the UK is resonating with male consumers

Key findings

• Men account for 24% of Sephora’s UK customers, highlighting a sizeable segment.
• Awareness is rising at a similar pace among men and women, with men up +17 points (17% to 34%) vs +16 points among women (44% to 60%).
• Brand momentum among men has strengthened since market re-entry, with Consideration reaching 5% last year.

Beauty retailer Sephora re-entered the UK market in 2022 after more than a decade away. The brand first exited the UK in the mid-2000s, but has since re-entered, launching its UK e-commerce site in October 2022, followed by its first physical store opening at Westfield London in March 2023.

Since then, Sephora has been rebuilding its presence in a competitive beauty retail landscape. But while the brand is often associated with female shoppers, YouGov data suggests its appeal among men is both meaningful and growing.

Key insight #1: A quarter of Sephora’s UK customers are men – and awareness is rising at parity with women

According to YouGov Profiles, men make up nearly a quarter (24%) of Sephora’s customers in the UK, highlighting a sizeable segment of its audience.

Looking at brand awareness among men in the UK, data from YouGov BrandIndex shows that now almost 1 in 3 are aware of the beauty retailer (34%). While Awareness among men is lower than for women (60%), both demographics share a consistent growth rate.

Since January 2023, Awareness has risen from 17% to 34% (+17 points) among UK men, compared to a rise from 44% to 60% (+16 points) among UK women.

Key insight #2: Consideration is trending upwards among UK men

Beyond Awareness, the beauty retailer is also making gains in being considered as a place to shop, among men.

BrandIndex data shows that Consideration among UK men has climbed significantly following Sephora’s return. Consideration in early January was at 1%. By January 2025, it had climbed to a peak of 5%. It finds itself at 3% in April 2026.

While the score has since fluctuated, it is above pre-2024 levels, indicating that Sephora has been able to sustain a higher level of engagement among male consumers. The rise in Consideration suggests that Sephora is not just being noticed by men but is increasingly being seen as a viable place to shop for products.

A growing opportunity among male shoppers

Sephora’s UK comeback is resonating with men as well as women.

With nearly one in four customers already male, and awareness and consideration continuing to grow, men represent a meaningful and expanding opportunity for the retailer.

As Sephora continues to invest in both its physical footprint and brand presence in the UK, its ability to further capture and convert male shoppers could be an important driver of future growth.

Methodology:

YouGov BrandIndex collects data on thousands of brands every day. Sephora’s Awareness score is based on the question: Which of the following retailers have you *ever* heard of? Please select all that apply. Consideration score is based on the question: When you are in the market next to purchase goods from a retailer, from which of the following would you consider purchasing? Both scores are reported as percentages, and based on daily surveys on UK adults. Data is weighted by age, gender, region, social grade, and ethnicity using a raking methodology. Figures are shown as a 12-week moving average with sample size ranging from 2,882 to 3,015 between 1 January 2023 to 28 April 2026.

YouGov Profiles is based on continuously collected data through rolling surveys, rather than a single limited questionnaire. Figures are drawn from responses collected between April 2025 and April 2026, using a 52-week dataset updated weekly. Data is nationally representative of adults (18+) in Great Britain and weighted by age, gender, region, education, and social grade.

Image credit: Getty Images