Everything Is Bigger In TEXAS!
Everything is Bigger In
TEXAS!
Big Money Moves....
They say everything is bigger in Texas, so if you aren’t investing heavily here, get ready to put your marketing money where their mouth is. And trust me, this generation has a BIG appetite for retail.
If you’re a brand marketing to Gen Alpha or Gen Z, it may be time to whip out that candied lipstick, that Independence Day sparkler, that dazzling number, and start dangling it around Texas! And HEY… hot mama with the big hair! Save a cowboy and rope up some beauty instead. I’ll keep an eye on that cowboy for yah! Just teasing those lashes high ladies…. wink!
While everyone keeps their eyes on New York and California’s ROI powerhouses, a younger consumer powerhouse is growing deep in the heart of Texas. And these young guns aren’t just shopping—they’re hunting for beauty and firing off their dollars in numbers.
Personally, I think I’m over the moral question that I’ve pondered for years now – should we be marketing beauty to youth? Well, they love…. it so yes! I’ve seen it first-hand. These kids are now dragging their parents into stores and educating them about products in Sephora, Ulta, and everywhere you can find makeup. They come in groups and play show and tell. In my 25 years of working in beauty, this is the most connected anyone has ever been to beauty. I hated it at first, but I actually find it adorable and intriguing.
Texas ranked as the second-youngest state in America by median age, trailing only Utah.
Nearly one in four Texans is under 18, giving the state one of the country’s largest pipelines of emerging Gen Z and Gen Alpha consumers. And because everything really is bigger in Texas, the sheer number of young consumers makes the story even more compelling:
roughly 7.7 million Texans are under 18, the second-largest under-18 population of any state. Texas also ranks #2 in the number of 18–24-year-olds.
That’s a whole lot of future beauty loyalists.
But if cementing relationships with the next generation of consumers isn’t enough to get you excited about Texas, maybe the state’s overall retail growth will.
Texas is quickly becoming a case study in what happens when population growth, corporate migration, job creation, suburban development, and changing retail behavior all collide at once.
The state isn’t simply gaining consumers. It’s gaining working-age households, new communities, new businesses, and the retail infrastructure required to serve them, and beauty is particularly well positioned to benefit.
Texas reached roughly 31.7 million residents in 2025, adding approximately 391,000 people in a single year, which is the largest numerical population gain of any U.S. state.
Since 2020, its population has grown by roughly 8.8%, and with population growth comes retail growth.
Who do you think is experiencing the largest retail store count growth in America?
Texas took the #1 spot for planned retail store openings for 2026. RetailStat’s store-opening data pointed to roughly 1,700+ new retail locations planned for Texas this year, compared with approximately 700 in Florida and 580 in California. – who trailed far behind.
That’s not a small lead. That’s Texas-sized. Speaking of Texas-sized, I think it’s time we ask our friends in Texas to bring back the BIG hair. Think about the economics: big hair = more hair product = more money = more category growth. It’s practically a retail strategy!
And when the market eventually starts to plateau, I have a feeling we’re going to see that Texas hair getting higher and higher – all the way up to GOD to ask for a little more cash!
Anyway, back to retail openings and growth. Much of that expansion is following exactly where the consumer is going – population growth, housing development, employment opportunities, corporate migration, and the continued movement toward fast-growing Sun Belt markets.
Target alone plans 30+ new stores nationally in 2026, including Texas, while also remodeling stores. Texas has 12 Target remodels underway/planned—the most of any state in its current remodeling initiative.
The people are moving. The money is moving. And retail is moving right along with them. Texas, of course, has no income tax which means there’s more to spend on retail, and in turn, beauty and self care.
For beauty brands looking for their next big growth market, and for long life growth customers, Texas may just be a place to watch.
What Are You Waiting For?
Get in the
BOXXXOXOXO!
A Big Box Beauty exclusive article written by Dominick Briguglio, CCO of Big Box Beauty
published on 9/10/2026
Big Money Moves....
They say everything is bigger in Texas, so if you aren’t investing heavily here, get ready to put your marketing money where their mouth is. And trust me, this generation has a BIG appetite for retail.
If you’re a brand marketing to Gen Alpha or Gen Z, it may be time to whip out that candied lipstick, that Independence Day sparkler, that dazzling number, and start dangling it around Texas! And HEY… hot mama with the big hair! Save a cowboy and rope up some beauty instead. I’ll keep an eye on that cowboy for yah! Just teasing those lashes high ladies…. wink!
While everyone keeps their eyes on New York and California’s ROI, and population powerhouses, a younger consumer powerhouse is growing deep in the heart of Texas. And these young guns aren’t just shopping—they’re hunting for beauty and firing off their dollars in numbers.
Personally, I think I’m over the moral question that I’ve pondered for years now – should we be marketing beauty to youth? Well, they seem to love it so…. yes! I’ve seen it first-hand. These wise guys replaced the staff and are now dragging their parents into stores to educating them about products in Sephora, Ulta, and everywhere you can find makeup. They are our future lawyers making their case, the wallet’s verdict in their favor. They also don’t shop alone; they come in groups and play show and tell. In my 25 years of working in beauty, this is the most connected we’ve been. I questioned it at first, but I actually find it adorable and intriguing.
Texas, also a population powerhouse, is young and ranked as the second-youngest state in America by median age, trailing only Utah.
Nearly one in four Texans is under 18, giving the state one of the country’s largest pipelines of emerging Gen Z and Gen Alpha consumers. And because everything really is bigger in Texas, the sheer number of young consumers makes the story even more compelling:
roughly 7.7 million Texans are under 18, the second largest under-18 population penetration of any state. Texas also ranks #2 in the number of 18–24-year-olds.
That’s a whole lot of future beauty loyalists, and a great investment.
But if cementing relationships with the next generation of consumers isn’t enough to get you excited about Texas, maybe the state’s overall retail growth will.
Texas is quickly becoming a case study in what happens when population growth, corporate migration, job creation, suburban development, and changing retail behavior all collide at once.
The state isn’t simply gaining consumers. It’s gaining working-age households, new communities, new businesses, and the retail infrastructure required to serve them, and beauty is particularly well positioned to benefit.
Texas reached roughly 31.7 million residents in 2025, adding approximately 391,000 people in a single year, which is the largest numerical population gain of any U.S. state.
Since 2020, its population has grown by roughly 8.8%, and with population growth comes retail growth.
Who do you think is experiencing the largest retail store count growth in America?
Texas took the #1 spot for planned retail store openings for 2026. RetailStat’s store-opening data pointed to roughly 1,700+ new retail locations planned for Texas this year, compared with approximately 700 in Florida and 580 in California. – who trailed far behind.
That’s not a small lead…. that’s Texas-sized. Speaking of Texas-sized, I think it’s time we ask our friends in Texas to bring back the BIG hair. Think about the economics: big hair = more hair product = more money = more category growth. It’s a no brainer retail growth strategy! Since eyeshadow still hasn’t made a full comeback, we should beg them to bring back those good old southern baby blues.
Anyway, back to retail openings and growth. Much of that expansion is following exactly where the consumer is going: population growth, housing development, employment opportunities, corporate migration, and the continued shift toward fast-growing Sun Belt markets. And yes, plenty of that migration has come from California, where the cost of living, thanks to the powers that be that have sent more than a few residents and businesses looking for somewhere else to call home, and preferably somewhere warm!
Target alone plans 30+ new stores nationally in 2026, including Texas, while also remodeling stores. Texas has 12 Target remodels underway/planned and the most of any state in its current remodeling initiative.
The people are moving, the money is moving, and retail is moving right along with them. Texas, of course, has no income tax which means there’s more to spend on retail, and in turn, beauty and self-care.
For beauty brands looking for their next big growth market, and for long life growth customers, Texas may just be a place to watch.
What Are You Waiting For?
Get in the
BOXXXOXOXO!
A Big Box Beauty exclusive article written by Dominick Briguglio, CCO of Big Box Beauty
published on 9/10/2026
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