By: hulo.dev team
Agency
E-commerce is evolving fast — and skincare brands are at the front lines of that change. With rising ad costs, savvier shoppers, and an avalanche of new tools, what worked in 2023 might already feel stale in 2025.
At hulo.dev, we’re a Shopify agency that specializes in high-converting stores for skincare brands. From retention flows to immersive UX, we build stores designed not just to sell — but to support long-term growth in high-repurchase categories.
This post is part of the No Revisions Summer Camp — a series of insights for modern DTC teams. Below, we’re highlighting 5 e-commerce trends we believe every skincare brand should be paying attention to in 2025 and beyond.
1. AI-Generated Visuals Will Cut Content Costs
Skincare is a high-touch, high-visual category. But producing branded content — for PDPs, ads, bundles, or seasonal campaigns — is expensive. Photo shoots, motion assets, studio time… it adds up fast.
AI is starting to shift that balance.
You’re not replacing your photographer or designer — but you can absolutely reduce your reliance on them for early-stage assets. Especially when testing new products, bundles, or concepts. With the right approach, AI-generated visuals can help you get brand-quality content faster, at a fraction of the cost.
That means you no longer need to spend $4,000 to validate a new idea. You can generate visuals for a product that doesn’t exist yet, add a compelling description, turn on pre-orders in Shopify, and run a small $200 campaign to test interest.
For skincare brands where launch velocity and storytelling matter, this isn’t a gimmick — it’s leverage.
→ The brands that scale fastest are already using AI to expand output, reduce production cycles, and de-risk early-stage ideas.
2. Subscriptions Must Evolve
Skincare is built on routine — and routine is exactly what subscriptions are made for. But in 2025, basic “subscribe & save” models feel outdated. If your subscription experience doesn’t adapt to how people actually use your products, you’re going to lose them.
The new wave of subscription tools is focused on retention-first functionality — helping brands not just acquire subscribers, but keep them active and engaged.
That includes features like:
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Cancellation Prevention flows that offer relevant alternatives when a customer tries to leave (like skipping, delaying, or adjusting frequency)
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Dynamic bundles that let users mix products or build their own set
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Smart upsells post-checkout or mid-cycle (like adding a travel-size or accessory)
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Loyalty program integration that rewards continued subscriptions with perks
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Self-serve account portals where customers can easily manage their routine without emailing support
Skincare brand Tiege Hanley recently implemented several of these tools and saw a 44% drop in churn. That’s the difference between a subscription feature and a subscription strategy.
The key is making subscriptions feel useful, flexible, and personal — not like a trap. When your retention tools are built into the flow of your store, they work quietly in the background to protect revenue.
→ For skincare brands, evolving your subscription flow isn’t just a nice-to-have — it’s one of the most reliable ways to increase LTV without increasing ad spend.
3. Zero-Party Data Enables Personalization
Skincare is one of the most personal product categories — but most e-commerce experiences still feel one-size-fits-all. Popups asking for your email. Product pages that treat every shopper the same. It’s no wonder conversion and retention plateau.
That’s where zero-party data comes in — information your customers choose to share with you: their skin type, concerns, goals, habits, preferences. And unlike third-party data (which is disappearing fast), zero-party data is accurate, opt-in, and fully owned by your brand.
Smart skincare brands are already using this approach to power:
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Onboarding quizzes that guide shoppers to the right products from day one
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Dynamic bundles tailored to skin concerns or seasonal needs
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Email flows personalized to skin goals, usage cycles, or product pairings
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Reorder reminders based on individual usage, not generic timing
This isn’t just a better experience — it leads to higher conversion, stronger retention, and more relevant marketing.
And the best part? These systems don’t require custom dev work. Tools like Octane AI, KnoCommerce, and Postscript make it easy to collect and activate this data within your Shopify stack.
→ For skincare brands, zero-party data is more than a quiz — it’s the foundation of a customer journey that actually feels personal.
4. Post-Purchase is the New Retention Battleground
Most brands focus all their energy on the first sale. But in skincare, real growth comes from what happens after the checkout. Your product is part of a daily routine — and if the post-purchase experience doesn’t support that, repeat orders won’t follow.
The smartest skincare brands in 2025 are building post-purchase flows that feel like extensions of the product. That includes:
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Usage-based email flows: sent when someone is likely to start, run out, or reorder
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Next-order upsells: “Want to add this to your next shipment?” via email or SMS
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Dynamic replenishment reminders tied to product type and usage frequency
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Customer portals that are actually easy to use — to skip, edit, or add to future orders
This is where retention happens: not on a generic subscription timeline, but in the moments where you anticipate the customer’s need before they even realize it.
→ For skincare brands, the post-purchase flow isn’t a follow-up — it’s the next funnel.
5. Skincare-Led Aesthetics in Design
Skincare is a category built on feeling — and the best e-commerce brands now treat that as a design principle, not just a side effect. In 2025, we’re seeing stores shift away from loud, conversion-obsessed DTC templates and toward something slower, more intentional, more emotionally tuned.
The new standard isn’t just “clean” — it’s immersive. The best stores today don’t just sell products; they create a mood. Every scroll, transition, and interaction feels like it belongs to the same sensory world as the product itself. The result isn’t just visual appeal — it’s alignment. The interface mirrors the calm, care, and ritual of skincare.
You’re not just guiding a transaction — you’re guiding a vibe.
→ For skincare brands, your site’s mood isn’t decoration — it’s a layer of your brand experience.
Final Thoughts
You don’t need a 20-person growth team to thrive in 2025. The brands growing fastest are simply making sharper choices: using AI to test faster, building retention into their flow, and creating stores that feel aligned with their product experience.
Not every trend is for you — but ignoring these five might mean scaling slower while others leap ahead.
Need this kind of thinking inside your own build?
We help skincare brands turn these trends into real conversion wins — from subscription flows to zero-party quizzes and lightning-fast storefronts.
