YouTube a Sales Driver for Makeup Brands

YouTube is a boon for makeup brands, spurred by various tutorial makers, such as Michelle Phan, Bethany Mota and Zoe Sugg. It's the ideal landscape in which to hawk beauty products, said Candace Corlett, president of WSL Strategic Retail, a consulting firm. "It's a platform for people to showcase themselves. And what do I want to show you? The things I like. How perfect."

Total Retail's Take: This makes total sense. Combine a visual product like makeup with a video network such as YouTube and a target demographic — millennial women — that's more likely to be on social media, and you have a recipe for success. Brands in the makeup space, including Sephora and Ulta, have been lauded for their social media efforts. They're wisely leveraging their own customers as well as social influencers to spread the word about their products, and in the process are driving sales.