The retailer also invests in beauty in other ways, including bringing back a Beauty Glow Up savings event and expanding virtual try-ons.
Walmart launched its accelerator program in 2022. The first class of brands included the perfume brand Dossier, the hair care brand Pardon My Fro, and others.
“Two years ago, we launched Walmart Start – our beauty brand accelerator program, which has quickly become one of my favorite initiatives,” Creighton Kiper, vice president of beauty merchandising for Walmart U.S., said in the news post. Kiper noted that all of the brands from last year’s class have expanded into more Walmart stores or extended their product count at Walmart.
Beauty retailers like Ulta and Sephora offer accelerator programs, including mentorship and learning opportunities. Accelerator programs not only help novice beauty company founders with key resources but can also help retailers expand their merchandise offerings with up-and-coming brands.
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Walmart has been attempting to make a name for itself in the beauty space for some time now. As virtual try-ons have become common, with companies like Amazon and Google using them across categories, Walmart has embraced them in its beauty offering, announcing virtual try-ons for makeup with Perfect Corp. in October last year.
Additionally, Walmart opened a clean beauty shop last year, touching on an emerging trend in the beauty space. At launch, most items in the retailer’s clean beauty shop fell under $10, another example of Walmart seeking to position itself as an affordable choice for beauty products. Two years ago, Walmart partnered with British beauty retailer Space NK, bringing products to 250 stores and online. Over 600 Space NK items were added to its assortment, helping Walmart enter the prestige beauty market.
