Physical stores remain important for the fragrance category during the holiday period, accounting for 70% of sales in the nine weeks ending December 3, 2022, which is an increase of 1 point versus the same period last year. Specialty retailers are gaining dollar share, with beauty specialty stores fragrance sales growing at four times the rate of department stores in October, according to NPD Checkout data.

— Read more in Bricks Outperform Clicks As Us Holiday Prestige Fragrance Sales Increase 4% at BeautyMatter.

According to The NPD Group, fragrance sales grew 4 percent from Oct. 4 through Dec. 2.

The increase is due in part to climbing price averages and fewer discounts, as well as consumers opting for higher-priced offerings — a prevailing trend this year.

“Fragrance sales reached new heights following the pandemic, and it’s particularly impressive that the market is maintaining this elevated level rather than softening, which is typically the case after such an unprecedented performance,” Larissa Jensen, beauty industry adviser at NPD, said in a statement.

— Read more in Holiday Shopping Boosts Prestige Fragrance Sales 4 Percent at Women's Wear Daily.

“The demand is just so strong that we can’t keep up,” said Yves Bouquier, the president of Pochet’s US subsidiary. “We’ve never delivered more perfume or beauty bottles in our entire existence.” The company delivered 270 million glass perfume bottles and beauty jars this year. That’s a record for the 400-year-old company, which says it produced the first bottle designed by a perfumer in 1853 for Guerlain.

— Read more in Fragrance Industry Is a Luxury Standout as Demand Keeps Roaring at Business of Fashion.

They are entering a market which, according to the latest Euromonitor data, should achieve a 22.5% growth rate over the next five years (compared to 7% for the global market). By 2025, retail sales on the Chinese perfume market should reach 30 billion yuans. Right now, according to iResearch Consulting Group, women with medium to high incomes account for more than 80% of Chinese perfume consumers, with a purchase price per unit from 500 to 800 yuans (EUR 68 to EUR 108). As a consequence, a few analysts assert that China went from a pre-Covid economy focused on lipstick to a perfume-centred one.

— Read more in “The Chinese culture influences perfumers”, David Huang, Robertet China at Premium Beauty News.