FEATURE
45 percent from the year prior , despite the average retail price for fragrance products growing by 15 percent in the same time period .
Data from Market . us shows the global fragrance market was valued at $ 49.8 billion in 2022 , and is expected to reach $ 86.3 billion by 2032 , reflecting a compound annual growth rate ( CAGR ) of 5.8 percent .
In the US , revenue in the fragrance market is expected to reach $ 9 billion by the end of 2023 , with 58 percent of sales attributable to non-luxury goods , market research firm Statista states .
Olya Bar , head of digital marketing and communications at Twisted Lily , an online retailer specialising in luxury and hard-tofind niche and indie fragrances from around the world , described this uptick in consumer demand as a pivotal shift in the industry .
“ The year 2021 proved to be an extraordinary period , undoubtedly shaped by the pandemic , which had a profound influence on consumer behavior ,” Bar said .
“ While people were confined to their homes , fragrance emerged as a unique and powerful product that provided an unparalleled escape – both emotionally and mentally . Countless consumers openly expressed how the process of exploring new fragrances brought comfort , transported their minds , and created a new sense of entertainment that was fairly easy to access .”
Notably , the way many consumers discovered and purchased fragrances during the pandemic was online and on
Phlur is known for its creative social media campaigns . their phones . TikTok had just exploded in popularity , and niche brands suddenly found themselves in front of a captive audience .
TikTok and the rise of niche brands Pre-pandemic , the experience of buying a bottle of perfume relied strongly on brickand-mortar stores and the consumer ’ s sense of smell . Unlike retail categories like fashion , which had largely figured out how to translate their offerings online – you can still see what an item of clothing looks like , even if you can ’ t try it on – fragrances proved much more difficult to sell online .
With the meteoric rise of TikTok in 2019 , however , came a wealth of perfumerelated content and new , fragrance-focused influencers like Fumi Monet , Kudzi Chikumbu , and Olivia VanDerMillen , who sold perfume more by the concept than the scent of the product itself .
In 2022 , TikTok was responsible for 45 percent of all social media-driven fragrance purchases in the US , NPD data shows . And as of this August , the hashtag # perfumetok has garnered over 4 billion views and # fragrancetok over 1 billion views .
The ones that have benefited the most from this changing state of play are newer , niche brands , said Linda G . Levy , president of The Fragrance Foundation .
“ During the pandemic , there was a shift from just going into a store and smelling [ a ] fragrance ,” Levy said . “ It created the ability for an open audience to experience the storytelling and entertainment value , or the in-depth information of ingredients . “ For small brands starting , everything became equal . L ’ Oreal , LVMH , Coty , all the biggest companies , were just learning about social media , and these little baby companies were relying totally on it . It was no longer about running television commercials or magazine spreads , it was about telling the story .”
One example of this is Austin-based fragrance brand Phlur , which launched in 2015 , and is now owned and creatively directed by fashion influencer Chriselle Lim . After acquiring the company in 2021 , one of the first products Lim launched was a scent titled Missing Person . As part of the marketing campaign , influencers were sent a plain , white shirt with directions to spray the fragrance upon it and recollect the scent of a loved person missing from their lives , such as a former lover or friend .
Another niche brand that understands the power of a creative narrative is Snif . Founded in 2020 , it recently clinched a partnership with Ulta Beauty , and is now available in more than 500 brick-and-mortar stores . Snif has positioned itself as an ‘ accessible luxury ’ fragrance brand , and offers both conventional and unique scents , from more standard citrus or floral aromas , to ones that smell like gasoline ( Dead Dinosaur ), or a freshly baked croissant ( Crumb Couture ).
Also targeting the ‘ accessible luxury ’ space is Elorea , an up-and-coming fragrance brand that draws inspiration for everything from its scent profiles to its marketing visuals from South Korean culture . Founded in 2022 , it has a brick-and-mortar presence in Lower Manhattan that is part-store , part-cafe , and part-art gallery , and has been widely covered by the media .
The waning strength of brand loyalty The same factors that gave rise to niche brands over the course of the pandemic also led to the diminishment of brand loyalty . A report from McKinsey & Company concluded that 39 percent of consumers , primarily Gen Z and Millennials , deserted trusted brands for new ones .
Unlike previous generations , which remained loyal to one scent for most of their lives , like Yves Saint Laurent ’ s Opium in the ’ 80s or Calvin Klein ’ s CK One in the ’ 90s , younger consumers are more interested in building what is dubbed a ‘ fragrance wardrobe ,’ and having multiple scents in rotation to fit a variety of moods and style aesthetics .
Ulta Beauty ’ s vice president of merchandising , Penny Coy , has observed this change first-hand , in the way customers interact with the retailer ’ s product offering .
“ We are now seeing guests experiment across brands , price points and formats to build a wardrobe all their own ,” Coy explained . “ Perhaps what makes the category so fascinating is that there are no rules in fragrance , so consumers today are more willing to branch out from the familiar and are expanding their collection to include a
40 www . insideretail . us September 2023