The Rise of the 'Dupe Economy'
The proliferation of beauty and wellness 'dupes' — lower-priced alternatives to prestige products — is a growing force in retail. A recent podcast discussion framed the trend as making beauty more accessible, especially for value-focused shoppers. This 'dupe economy' is reshaping consumer perception and creating new competitive dynamics for the off-price sector.
The trend is heavily fueled by social media, where the hashtag #dupe has garnered over 8.9 billion views on TikTok. Online searches reflect this digital acceleration, with queries for “dupe + skin care” up 123.5% and “dupe + makeup” up 31.0% between July 2022 and July 2023. While driven by younger demographics like Gen Z (49% have purchased a dupe) and Millennials (44%), the trend is not exclusively about affordability. A 2025 study found 17% of dupe buyers earn over $150,000 annually, and affluent consumers are 1.68 times more likely to buy skincare dupes when they believe the ingredients are comparable to or better than prestige brands. On average, original premium products cost 347% more than their dupe counterparts, yet customer satisfaction levels are often similar. Despite the price difference, an analysis of beauty sales showed that both the affordable "duper" brands and the higher-priced "duped" brands experienced surges in dollar sales and buyers, indicating the two segments can coexist and grow simultaneously. In response, some prestige brands are tackling the trend head-on. Haircare brand Olaplex, for instance, saw the hashtag #olaplexdupe receive over 30 million views and launched its own fake dupe product called "Oladupé" in a campaign, which was ultimately revealed to be its own original product. The global off-price retail market was valued at $317.4 billion in 2024 and is projected to grow to $678.9 billion by 2034. Within this sector, cosmetics have been a top-performing category for retailers like Ross Stores, catering to both premium-brand bargain hunters and dedicated dupe seekers. This rapid market shift is enabled by changes in manufacturing, where a mismatch exists between fast-moving consumer trends and slow, traditional product development cycles. Bringing a lookalike of an already popular product to market allows brands to capitalize on trends with greater speed and reduced risk.
