Perfume is one of my passions, and I take my scents very seriously. I must have inherited this from my mom, because she wore Chanel No. 5 or Boucheron every single day of her life (save for an Opium spell here and a Diva stint there) and even doused herself before going to bed at night. My obsession/addiction comes in the form of experimentation thanks to my Olfactif subscription (I can’t wait for my August samples to arrive!) and my lack of wallet-control when I fall for a new fragrance—and I was so floored by these stats from A.T. Kearney’s recent “Dollars and Scents: Winning in Fragrances” report, I couldn’t resist sharing them…
· According to the NPD Group, prestige fragrance sales in the United States are in excess of $4 billion.
· In 2015 there were more than 100 new fragrance launches and brand extensions. Yet, four out of five of the top women’s fragrances in 2015 held the same spot as in 2010. In case you’re curious, the four repeats were Chanel Coco Mademoiselle, Chanel No. 5, Chanel Chance Eau Tendre, Dolce and Gabbana Light Blue.
· 34% of perfume shoppers said their last in-store purchase was to replenish their favorite fragrance—not try a new one.
· More than one-third of online shoppers are willing to buy a scent online that they had never purchased before. (I would NEVER take that risk.)
· In-store samples lead to fragrance purchases less than half the time. (Not a great ROI, eh?)
· Nearly one-third of respondents admit to purchasing fragrances on an impulse. (Duh.)
Just so you know, the main point of this report was to assess the impact that advertising plays in fragrance purchasing—and let’s just say it’s no more powerful than word of mouth. Only 6 percent of consumers buy perfume based on advertising, and this is surprising considering the tremendous amount of money spent on print, video and online. Case in point… Those Chanel No. 5 videos don’t compel me to run out and buy a flacon, but I absolutely love them, don’t you?