Target is selling $7 beauty boxes that let you try a ridiculous amount of products

• Target is the latest retailer to start selling a monthly beauty box of trending makeup.
• Each box costs $7, and people seem to love them.
• Walmart also sells a $5 box.
• Big-name brands like Sephora and Birchbox should be concerned.

Last month, Target started selling monthly beauty boxes of trending products. The $7 boxes contain miniature, sample-size versions of fan-favorite drugstore products.

Currently, Target offers five variations of the box: All the Masks, a kit that includes five different face masks; Treat Yourself, which includes seven samples of relaxing items including bath bombs and lotions; Be You(tiful), a wide-ranging box that includes eight different makeup and hair-care products; Wakeup and Makeup, an eight-piece kit of items like deodorant and makeup products that are intended to make mornings a breeze;  and Define and Shine, a six-piece roundup of products that will make curls look their best. 

So far, people seem to be loving the boxes.

Other beauty box brands should be concerned.

Once it works out the kinks, Target could pose a serious threat to legacy subscription box brands because it is affordable and easily attainable.

One of the biggest benefits is that instead of waiting for a monthly delivery, Target shoppers can order a beauty box online or pick it up in stores at any time.

Plus, it seems that the Target boxes will lead to greater profits in the long run, as it offers customers samples of inexpensive drugstore products they might actually be inclined to purchase in the future. Customers who subscribe to a $10 service may be hesitant to purchase pricey, full-size versions of samples they try.

Additionally, Target not only offers inexpensive products in its boxes, but also more of them. On average, a box from Target contains 1.8 more samples than one from a competitor that offers five samples.

Although the difference between a $7 and $10 box might seem negligible, it adds up over time. A year's subscription to Play! by Sephora or Birchbox would cost $120 in total, while a year's worth of Target boxes would only cost $84. The $36 difference could be used to purchase several drugstore products or one high-end piece. 

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And while every beauty box brand is catered toward a different pool of customers, it seems like Target could give legacy brands some serious competition in the near future.

Representatives for Target and Sephora didn't immediately return INSIDER's request for comment. A representative for Birchbox declined to comment on this story.

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