Opening a beauty e-commerce store

From scratch

The steps in order, before choosing a platform.

1. 1Choose the model: resell third-party brands, sell your own brand, or both. Obligations, margins and suppliers change.
2. 2Set up the business: company form, VAT number and, in Italy, online retail usually needs a SCIA filed with the municipal SUAP office. Check with your municipality.Source: impresainungiorno.gov.it — Licenze e permessi
3. 3Selling a cosmetic under your own brand requires a Responsible Person (Regulation EC 1223/2009): safety assessment, product information file and CPNP notification. Resellers keep distributor duties such as checking labels and storage.
4. 4Product copy and ads must meet the cosmetic claims criteria (Regulation EU 655/2013): no therapeutic promises.
5. 5Work out first-year and renewal costs, not just the entry fee: platform, hosting, apps, payments, shipping, returns and marketing.
6. 6Prepare terms of sale, privacy, cookies and pre-contract information before opening.

Six widely used platforms, not a ranking. The fee is only part of the cost: look at what is included and what is extra.

List prices in the currency and billing stated by the provider, with no conversion. They can change at any time and differ by country: always check the source. Where VAT is not stated, check the source to see whether it is included.

• Shopify

  Hosted SaaS

  • Basic: $29/month · billed annually
  • Basic: $39/month · billed monthly

  Hosting included. Prices and fees vary by market and business location, which is why we do not convert dollars to euros.

  Source: Shopify — Prezzi (IT)

• WooCommerce

  Open source, self-hosted

  • Core: free

  The core plugin is free; hosting, paid extensions, security and maintenance cost extra.

  Source: WooCommerce — Pricing

• PrestaShop

  Open source or hosted edition

  • Classic: free
  • Hosted: €24/month + VAT · billed annually
  • Hosted: €29/month + VAT · billed monthly

  Classic is a free download you host yourself; Hosted includes hosting, with an annual commitment or none.

  Source: PrestaShop — Offerte

• BigCommerce

  Hosted SaaS

  • Core: $29/month · billed annually

  Each plan has an annual sales (GMV) limit and some external payment providers carry fees: check the source.

  Source: BigCommerce — Pricing

• Wix

  Hosted SaaS

  • Price varies by country: see the source

  Taking payments requires a plan that enables them; the price shown depends on your location.

  Source: Wix — Negozio online

• Shopware

  Open source or hosted edition

  • Community Edition: free
  • Rise: from €600/month + VAT · billed monthly

  Community Edition has no licence fee but must be hosted and developed; commercial plans start at Rise.

  Source: Shopware — Prezzi

Hosting and costs

With a SaaS platform hosting is in the fee; with open source you pay for it separately.

• —Separate the first-year promotional price from the renewal: in the example below the renewal costs about three times as much.Source: Aruba — Hosting WooCommerce gestito
• —Add the recurring costs price lists do not show: apps and extensions, theme, domain, backups, development, product photos and support.
• —Dollar prices: the euro amount depends on the exchange rate and the provider's terms at the time of payment.

Payments

• —Gateway fees apply to the amount charged, VAT included: compare them on your average order.Source: Stripe — Tariffe (IT)
• —Some platforms add a fee when you use an external payment provider: check the pricing page.Source: BigCommerce — Pricing
• —Factor in chargebacks, refunds and foreign currencies: they have their own costs and differ by provider.

Shipping, returns and rules

• —EU consumers have 14 days to withdraw. The exception covers sealed goods unsuitable for return for health or hygiene reasons once unsealed after delivery: not all cosmetics as such.Source: La tua Europa — Vendite a distanza
• —B2C sales to other EU countries: above €10,000 a year in total (EU threshold, with conditions) the customer's country VAT applies; the OSS lets you file a single return. IOSS covers low-value imported goods.Source: La tua Europa — Sportello unico IVA (OSS)
• —Since 28 June 2025 e-commerce services fall under the accessibility obligations of Italian Legislative Decree 82/2022; exemptions exist, for example for micro-enterprises providing services. Check your case.Source: AgID — Obblighi di accessibilità (d.lgs. 82/2022)
• —Shipping: perfumes and some aerosols may face transport limits; ask your carrier before setting rates and countries.

B2B e-commerce and channels

• —B2B needs reserved price lists, order minimums, payment terms and customer areas; the consumer right of withdrawal does not apply in the same way.
• —On Shopify, B2B features vary by plan (Basic, Grow, Advanced, Plus); some, such as catalogues assigned directly to companies, are listed for Plus only.Source: Shopify Help — B2B per piano
• —Channels: your own store, marketplaces and specialist online retailers. Each has its own fees, price and content rules and payment times.

Retailer case studies

Dossiers on the online models of major beauty retailers, built only on official sources.

No affiliation and no ranking: names are in alphabetical order.

• Notino

  Dossier in preparation

  Only articles already published and verified by the editors appear here.

• Douglas

  Dossier in preparation

  Only articles already published and verified by the editors appear here.

• Pinalli

  Dossier in preparation

  Only articles already published and verified by the editors appear here.

• Sephora

  Dossier in preparation

  Only articles already published and verified by the editors appear here.

• LOOKFANTASTIC / THG

  Dossier in preparation

  Only articles already published and verified by the editors appear here.