Meghan Markle's favourite beauty products see surge in positive online reviews since engagement

This article is brought to you by Retail Technology Review: Meghan Markle's favourite beauty products see surge in positive online reviews since engagement.

eCommerce insights service, E Fundamentals, has revealed an increase in positive consumer feedback and reviews for health and beauty products endorsed by the new Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, before and after the announcement of her engagement to Prince Harry.

Analysts conducted research into the 16 top beauty products used by the Duchess across 10 top health and beauty online retailers to see which is the best for consumers in terms of price, search visibility and consumer sentiment.

The results revealed that there has been an increase in average ratings since November 27th - the date the Royal engagement was announced - driven by a 6% increase in shoppers giving five-star reviews.

Search was another factor that E Fundamentals reviewed, with Meghan's preferred products appearing on the first page in 53% of category search results. The profiles of each product were most prominent on John Lewis, Cult Beauty and Look Fantastic, with 100% of products listed appearing on page one, yet scored poorly on All Beauty (33%) and House of Fraser (29%), with Amazon in last place with only 27% of listed products on page one.

The research also shows that to get the best value for money, shoppers would need to visit six separate online stores in order to shop at the lowest total price point of £585.

The top health and beauty retailers reviewed included online-only retailers Amazon, Look Fantastic, All Beauty and Feel Unique, as well as the sites for UK bricks and mortar stores Boots, House of Fraser, Debenhams, John Lewis and Selfridges.

The results revealed that fans looking to steal the Markle look would be able to get hold of her favourite products the easiest from Amazon, which lists 14 out of 16 items. However, the online retail giant is not necessarily the cheapest site to buy from, with only two products having the best price points in the market.

The Duchess' favourite lipstick, for example, the Charlotte Tilbury Matte Revolution in 'Very Victoria', retails on Amazon at £29.99, yet the product is also listed online on Cult Beauty, Feel Unique, House of Fraser, John Lewis and Selfridges for £24.00.

The product that saw the biggest uplift in consumer interest was Wella's Luminous Soothing Oil – a hair product Meghan has confessed she is "obsessed with" because of its versatility. "It smells like vacation and makes your hair slippery and touchable. I love this stuff! It also doubles as a pretty amazing body oil post bath."

John Maltman, CEO at E Fundamentals said: "Days away from one of the most highly anticipated events of the year, the team at E Fundamentals wanted to calculate the true value of the 'Meghan effect' by looking at her favourite beauty products. Unsurprisingly, eCommerce giant Amazon comes out on top for the variety of products on offer, but it's interesting that it falls behind in terms of search and price points. The hike in reviews on most retail sites suggests that as an influencer, she is having a notable effect on British consumers. Not all products are widely available, so some retailers may have missed out on sales. Insights like this show there is a big opportunity for health and beauty brands to optimise products across key online retailers and drive an increase in sales."