Given the relatively high cost of products it was assumed that the fragrance sector would be particularly badly hit, analyst Mark Whalley with market research company Datamonitor explained.
However, it seems fragrance has held up better during the economic downturn than skin care and hair care. This, according to Whalley, is related to the consumer's view of fragrance as an affordable luxury; when times are tough an occasional treat can help boost moral.
In addition, he said that comparing volume growth to value growth in the fragrance market suggests that higher prices do not necessarily put consumers off.
“When making an expensive purchase consumers want to maximise their value for money. If that means spending a little bit more for a product that is clearly superior then they are generally prepared to look beyond absolute price,” he told CosmeticsDesign-Europe.com.
Focusing on how to improve products and the value for money they represent will be a key way to grow sales, he predicted.
Trading-up from celebrity to prestige
Although in the current climate, the low price of celebrity fragrances is driving their growth, the analyst does not think the supremacy of these products will last forever.
“Once the economy has recovered the cheaper celebrity fragrances could be vulnerable to trading-up to move to more prestige varieties,” he said.
Whalley is not alone in suggesting that growth opportunities may soon be found in more premium offerings that promise the extraordinary to the consumer.
For perfumers Pierre-Constantin Gueros and Kevin J Verspoor, writing in the Pierce Mattie Trend Forecast Volume III, the industry needs to recapture its glamorous past and they predict the revival of classic scents and ingredients.
In addition, the Fragrance Foundation, set up in 1949 to enhance the image of the fragrance industry and expand the use and appreciation of fragrances, has launched an advertising campaign to help consumers rediscover the art of perfumery.
‘One drop changes everything’ focuses on the transformative nature of fragrance and is based on the silhouette of an atomiser with visuals that can be modified depending on the campaign.
Fragrance Foundation president Rochelle Bloom described the campaign, which will target occasional fragrance wearers and entice them to become fragrance fans who use the product more often, as a ‘unifying rallying cry for the industry.