The Rise of Discovery Sets and Samples in the Perfume Industry
If you have been reviewing the vast array of perfume brands over the years as we have been, then you probably have picked up on the recent trend of discovery sets and perfume samples becoming much more popular. Discovery sets can be classified as a set of sample perfumes (normally 0.8-1.7ml per sample bottle) that cover multiple fragrances from the brand. This makes it easy for someone to buy a discovery set and try multiple perfumes from the fragrance house without committing to buying a full bottle. This recent product offering has emerged in parallel with consumer preferences. Specifically Gen Z.
Before diving into why this is happening and how perfume brands can incorporate it into their promotional advertising strategy, let’s substantiate this claim.
This data is taken directly from Google Trends. The sample is looking at the search interest and search volume for the topic of ‘Perfume Discovery Set’ in the United States between 2004 until now.
This data looks at the keyword volume and general topic of ‘perfume sample’.
As we can see, the interest in people looking for ‘perfume discovery sets’ and ‘perfume samples’ skyrocketed around 2021. At Parfum Digital, we have compiled some data, as well as some overall observations we have noticed happening in the fragrance industry.
There is a significant portion of perfume brands that are advertising discovery sets and buying samples on their website in the form of:
Popups and website banners
Including discovery sets in the top navigation
Discovery Sets have their own category page
Samples often being an ‘Add On’ when another perfume is in the shopping cart
Including imagery of discovery sets and samples on social media
We have also seen discovery sets being heavily advertised in various email campaigns.
Here are a few various perfume brands, ranging from designer, to niche, to luxury niche brands. All running various discovery set and sample product offerings.
Creed offers samples with every order
Floraiku has discovery sets in the top navigation
Chanel offers samples with every perfume order
This is the home page of Dusita Paris
This is the home page of Abel Fragrances. The top navigation also has a samples category page menu option
This is from the Instagram of Les Bains Guerbois
One of many different Gucci discovery sets
Why Perfume Brands Have Previously Focused Only on Selling Full-Sized Bottles
A fundamental goal of any business that sells physical goods is to increase the Average Order Value (AOV). In the perfume industry, this translates to selling the biggest bottle size possible. Bottles will always have the higher AOV and higher profit margin. Anybody who has shopped for perfume at a department store has had the salesperson try to upsell a 5 oz instead of the 3.4 oz you intended on buying. Brands make more money by selling bigger bottles. So this is exactly what a brand will optimize for. Many brands didn’t even have discovery sets or offer samples to sell until recently.
What Prompted This Change In Product Offerings?
Consumers favor more scent variety
The adoption of widespread ecommerce within the beauty category
Consumers want smaller price point options
Consumers Favor More Scent Variety
Trends in consumer preferences for perfume indicate that consumers are steering away from mass-market fragrances in favor of scents that better reflect their individuality. This trend is more prominent in younger consumers, who also happen to make up the largest segment of repeat perfume buyers. The market has responded to this fairly recent trend in consumers seeking niche fragrances, as we have seen a coinciding rise in new niche fragrance houses.
Ultimately consumers want to try more scents to find something that matches their specific taste. The best way to try all of the scents of a fragrance house is with a discovery set.
The Rise of Ecommerce in the Perfume Industry
More and more people are buying fragrances online which has its obvious drawbacks for the consumer. Unlike buying a perfume in a retail setting where you can sample the scent, you are blind buying the fragrance when purchasing online.
People want to mitigate the risk of buying a perfume that they don’t like and discovery sets are the best way to do that. While this change in product offerings is led by consumer preferences, it doesn’t have to be a lose-lose situation for perfume brands looking to increase their AOV and profitability. A perfume brand might initially sacrifice some first purchase AOV by promoting discovery sets, however, a strong personalized email marketing follow-up which includes interactive consumer feedback can help brands in the long term increase their Customer Lifetime Value (LTV) and make up for lower first order AOV’s.
Consumers Want Lower Price Point Options
The majority of perfume buying is driven by the Gen Z cohort. As we previously established, this age group:
Values fragrance variety
Buys more products online
Has limited purchasing power
To put it simply, on average, this cohort of buyers does not have the type of discretionary money to be buying larger bottles at a consistent rate. Many will opt for smaller-volume bottles, travel sprayers, decants, and discovery sets. According to Statista and Ecocart, Gen Z spends $115-154 per month on products, and the products have an AOV of $33. The closer you can get your business operations, product offerings, and marketing to align with established consumer buying behavior, the more easily your business will bring in new sales.
I would never say that brands should refine their entire pricing strategy around this age group, however, this age group will account for the largest workforce segment and will make up the majority of spending power in the US by 2030. If you want your perfume brand to thrive long-term, Millennials and Gen Z are who you should be trying to win over. And if brands want to appeal to this group of consumers then they need to be offering perfume discovery sets and perfume samples.