It only took a global pandemic to shift these companies into becoming a more digitized industry

    Fragrances have always been centered around an in-store buying mentality.  Just think… how comfortable would you be with spending mass money on something that becomes so core to your everyday self.  People generally spend years wearing the same scent and others are reminded of a specific person if they smell a particular scent.  When the pandemic hit, store closures contributed to a 21% decline in overall US fragrance sales year to date.  That said, once fragrance companies finally opened up to the idea of e-commerce and digitized offerings, they ramped up their online sales from 19% in 2019 to 33% year to date.  Nest Fragrances invested a great deal of online advertising and hiring talent to “better navigate customer analytics from its own website” to ensure “product pagers were optimized for success” believe that they will double their online business this year. 

    Fragrance companies now see that maintaining this online footing will be vital to future success and growth even post the coronavirus pandemic.  That said, many are trying to understand whether they should be focusing online advertising and sales strictly on their more “traditional” and “classic” fragrances that customers know and love already, rather than investing in new fragrances.  The article specifically states that e-commerce “works best as a replenishment channel” when it comes to fragrances.  Both Nest and L’Oreal have seen this throughout the Covid pandemic as “consumers are going with what they know and not experimenting with new fragrances.” 

    That said, companies need to work towards a sustainable online future and find better ways to allow consumers to “test or experience fragrances” in a digitized way.  For example, every L’Oreal online purchase now comes with 3 samples.  Additionally, they are focusing on “pre-launch sampling so that there are already customer reviews online when the official launch takes place.”  In terms of in-store shopping, companies are also testing out new in-store experiences by having “QR codes that allow shoppers, who may be hesitant to touch a tester, to pull up more information about the scent."  It will truly be vital for companies to step forward towards a more digital focused future, no matter what the industry or product. 

https://www.voguebusiness.com/beauty/fragrance-the-shift-to-digital