What Estée Lauder’s Online Growth Can Teach Growing Businesses

Estée Lauder reported growth in online sales in Asia and in its travel retail business during its fiscal first quarter, which ended Sept. 30. The company also raised its outlook for fiscal 2027 after reporting higher net sales and improved profitability in the quarter.

The news is relevant beyond beauty retail. It shows how a large company is combining wider availability across online channels with investment in the systems and experiences behind those channels. Small and growing businesses can draw practical lessons from that approach without copying the company’s scale or sales mix.

The key is to treat online growth as more than putting products on another platform. It means understanding where customers buy, making the experience work across channels, and ensuring the business can fulfil and support the demand it creates. Digital Commerce 360’s report describes the company’s results and digital initiatives.

What happened at Estée Lauder

Estée Lauder’s net sales grew 6.7% year over year to $3.7 billion in its fiscal first quarter. The company raised its expected organic net sales growth for fiscal 2027 to 4.0% to 5.5%, from its earlier forecast of 3% to 5%. It said improved profitability in the quarter contributed to the higher outlook, while also noting ongoing geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty.

Online sales increased in Asia, and its travel retail business also performed well. The company reported widening the availability of its products on Amazon and TikTok Shop. It said it had 13 brands on Amazon across 17 markets and 15 brands on TikTok Shop across 11 markets.

The company’s online sales include sales through its own brand websites, retailers’ ecommerce sites and third-party platforms. Its CEO described online growth as high-single-digit, with growth across regions. Asia Pacific rose double digit, while each of the other three regions grew high-single-digits, according to the report.

Estée Lauder also pointed to digital infrastructure. It deployed Shopify for M·A·C and Clinique on their U.S. and U.K. brand websites and began rolling it out for M·A·C freestanding stores in those markets. The company also partnered with Profound, an AI marketing platform, to gain insights into how its brands appear across AI platforms.

Why this matters to a business owner

Customers may encounter your business in more than one place. A customer might discover a product through social media, compare it on a retailer’s website, then buy from your own store. Estée Lauder’s use of brand websites, retailer ecommerce and third-party platforms illustrates why businesses should consider the full buying journey, not just one sales channel.

That does not mean every business needs to be on every platform. Each channel brings work: product information must be accurate, availability needs attention, and customer questions still need answers. Choose channels based on where your intended customers already shop and whether you can manage the experience consistently.

Growth needs operational support. Estée Lauder highlighted a new fulfillment center in China’s Hainan province, which opened in July, alongside online growth there. The source does not say that the center alone caused the growth. Still, the example is a reminder to consider fulfilment, stock visibility and delivery processes as part of an ecommerce plan.

A business can attract interest and still disappoint customers if the product is unavailable, checkout is confusing or order updates are unclear. Before investing more in promotion, review what happens after a customer clicks “buy.” If your online store needs a stronger foundation, explore our online store development.

Technology should solve business problems. Estée Lauder described its Shopify deployment as helping with consumer experiences, speed, simpler processes and productivity. The useful lesson is not that one platform suits every business. It is to identify what is slowing your team or frustrating customers, then choose tools that address those issues.

For a smaller company, that might mean connecting a store to stock records, reducing repeated data entry, or making product pages easier to use on a phone. A website audit can help you review your current site and identify areas to investigate.

How to choose your channels

Start with a clear picture of how customers find and buy from you. Look at the questions they ask, the channels they mention, and where completed orders currently come from. If you do not have reliable tracking, improving that visibility may be more useful than adding another sales platform.

Then assess each channel against your capacity. Consider the work needed to keep listings current, respond to enquiries, manage stock, process payments and handle delivery or returns. A channel is only useful if your business can support it after launch.

Use these questions to guide your decision:

• Does the channel fit how your customers shop? Choose based on customer behaviour you can observe, not assumptions about what is popular.
• Can you keep the offer consistent? Check that prices, product details, availability and support information do not conflict across channels.
• Can you fulfil orders reliably? Map what happens from payment to delivery, including how your team handles delays or stock problems.
• Can you measure its contribution? Decide what you will track, such as enquiries, completed orders or repeat purchases, before expanding.

Keep the first test manageable. You might improve one product category, one sales channel or one step in checkout. Define what success would look like for your business, set a review point, and compare what happened with your expectations. Avoid treating activity, such as publishing more listings, as proof that a channel is working.

Make the customer experience work end to end

Estée Lauder’s account links digital infrastructure with customer experience and productivity. For a growing business, those goals can be translated into practical checks. Can customers quickly understand what you sell? Can they find the information needed to make a decision? Is the path from product discovery to payment clear?

Review the experience on a phone as well as a larger screen. Check your product descriptions, images, payment options, delivery information and confirmation messages. If customers often need help before they buy, make answers easier to find. If staff repeatedly copy the same information between tools, identify whether a process or integration could reduce that work.

Automation can help with repetitive tasks, but it should support a process that already makes sense. For example, an email workflow could support welcome or post-purchase communication. First decide what customers need to know and when. Then make sure the messages reflect your policies and brand voice.

The same discipline applies to AI. Estée Lauder’s partnership with Profound concerned insights into how its brands appear across AI platforms. For another business, the immediate priority may simply be checking whether its key information is clear and consistent online. Consider AI tools when you can name the task they should improve, the information they need and the person responsible for reviewing their output.

What to do next

Use the news as a prompt to review your own digital sales system, not as a reason to rush into expansion. A practical starting plan is:

1. Map your customer journey. Write down how people discover, compare, buy and receive your product or service. Note where they switch channels or ask for help.
2. Choose one friction point. Focus on a specific problem, such as unclear delivery details, a difficult mobile checkout or repeated manual order updates.
3. Check your operational capacity. Confirm who will maintain product information, manage orders and answer customer questions if demand increases.
4. Test a focused improvement. Make one change, define what you will measure, and review the result before investing in further expansion.
5. Review the foundations. If your website, store or connected tools are limiting the experience, explore website development or automation and integrations.

Estée Lauder’s report offers no universal formula for online growth. Its useful lesson is that channels, customer experience and digital operations belong in the same conversation. For your business, start with the customer journey you can observe and the improvements your team can realistically support.