Smelling of roses: Issues surrounding mature female

consumers decision-making in the fragrance industry

Dr Lindsey CareyDr Barbara Jenkinson

Susan Walkinshaw

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Perfume

“ A fragrant liquid typically made from essential oils extracted from flowers and spices used to give a pleasant smell to one’s body.”

Oxford English Dictionary

“When a woman buys perfume, she buys much, much more than simply fluids. The perfume image, its promises, its scent, its name and package, the company that makes it, the stores that sell it – all become a part of the total perfume product.”

Cant et al., 2006:192

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UK market

Market worth £1.1bn (worldwide £16bn)Growth rate of market is estimated at

16.5%68% of fragrances are geared towards

women85% of women use perfume dailyProfitable 25-34 yr old female consumer

segment is in declineMature segment (over 44) is growing

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UK Market

New product introductions are a regular occurrence

Often led by celebritiesCharacterised by gift purchases (mainly

by women)Spend has not reduced even in times of

economic recession

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Market segmentation

According to the % of concentrated oils the fragrance includes (Perfume, Eau de Parfum, Eau de Toilette, Eau de Cologne)

By fragrance categories (Floral/Oriental/Woody and Fresh)

By manufacturer (4 multinationals own 45% of brands)

By category of fragrance “premium” and “mass market”

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Theoretical framework

Mature consumer behaviour (Fox et al., 1984; Lunsford & Burnett, 1992; Gilly & Zeithhaml, 1985; Moschis & Mathur, 2006; Uncles & Lee, 2006; Lambert-Pandraud & Laurent, 2010) Innovativeness (Laukkanen et al., 2007; Manning et al.,

1995; Wang & Zhou, 2008)

Relationship theory (Fournier, 1998; Chaudhuri & Holbrook, 2001; Thomson et al., 2005; Park et al., 2010; Grisaffe & Nguyen, 2011) Attachment (Ball & Tasaki, 1992; Kleine & Baker, 2004;

Mugge et al., 2006; Belaid & Behi, 2011; Patwardhan & Balasubramanian; 2011)

Nostalgia/heritage (Belk, 1990; Holbrook & Schindler, 1991; Holbrook, 1993; Divard & Robert-Demontrond, 1997)

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Research Problem

Previous research Nostalgia has little influence Strong brands facilitate attachment Innovation intense in the perfume market

Investigate issues surrounding the purchasing of fragrance brands by mature women with particular reference to nostalgia and attachment within the UK market

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Methods

Qualitative interviews with fragrance consultants (n=10)

Qualitative interviews with industry experts (n=4)

Survey distributed to women (age 44+) at point of sale of a specialist fragrance retailer (n =117)

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Descriptive results

3 age groups 44-60 (61%) Mature 61-75 (31%) Old Mature 76+ (8%) Grand Mature

Ownership of 3 bottles (as age increases number of bottles owned decreases)

High users of fragrance (84% use it daily)

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Attachment

Fragrance/brand builds a significant emotional relationship with customer

“passion, happiness, love, completely love vs upset, very upset, distraught, quite gutted, great disappointment, totally disappointed, devastated”

Enhances and helps create self concept and identity/ through brand engagement, scent (inc. signature scent), personality and association

“because perfume is a personal thing, I could walk into a room and know someone through the perfume they are wearing”

“you can associate characteristics with fragrances, for example, I would associate a stronger more pungent smell with a confident person and sweeter fragrances with someone who is more bubbly”

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Association“I think it’s an image thing so they won’t be embarrassed if someone asks what fragrance they are wearing, they wouldn’t want to say something like Kylie Minogue, they would rather say YSL or Dior”

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Nostalgia

Memories of events and emotional attachments create nostalgia (including displaced or removed attachments)

“ I wouldn’t show someone at twenty years old L’Instant de Guerlain but she might come in and ask for it because her grandmother wore it “and I just adore my grandmother and I want to wear it and I love it”. I’m not going to say she can’t”

“they say that reminds me of blah, blah, blah times, they are emotionally attached and they start telling you stories about the times they have worn the fragrance”

The older the consumer the preference for long established heritage brands increases

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Other determinants related to fragrance purchasing

Age related when associated with gift/occasion purchases

“if someone came in looking for a gift the question of the age of the recipient would be one of the first questions I would ask”Incentives are important in this market (price

promotions/free gifts)Celebrity endorsement is dominating for new

launch of fragrancesHeritage/luxury/classic brands are being re-

launched

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Conclusion

Perfume is in a product category of its own

Consumers purchase on association, emotional connection and self-image construction

Ambivalence of segmentation of consumer market related to age