the perfume market needs to eliminate the "unpleasant smell"
2024-09-25
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perfume, with its pleasant fragrance, carries people's yearning for a better life and also highlights people's personality. with the continuous improvement of living standards, perfume has gradually transformed from a niche commodity to an everyday consumer product, and the market size has expanded rapidly. however, a survey by a reporter from china consumer news found that at a time when more and more consumers are interested in perfume, the perfume market has seen problems such as inferior products being sold as good ones and difficult after-sales services, which have dampened consumers' enthusiasm for consumption.
the market is full of fakes
in recent years, my country's perfume market has shown a rapid development trend, and domestic brands have risen rapidly because of their high cost-effectiveness and popularity among consumers.
according to imedia research, the scale of china's perfume market will reach 20.7 billion yuan in 2023, a year-on-year increase of 22.5%, and is expected to reach 51.5 billion yuan in 2029. according to douyin data, the top three sales of perfumes and ointments on the platform in the first half of this year were all taken by domestic brands. judging from the list, the sales and sales of most domestic perfume brands are growing rapidly.
analysts from imedia research consulting believe that compared with mature international markets, the chinese perfume market is still a blue ocean and is expected to become a major growth market in the global perfume market in the future.
"the penetration rate of my country's perfume market is only 5%, far lower than 42% in europe and 50% in the united states, and there is huge room for market development. at present, there is a characteristic of my country's perfume consumption market: domestic brands have risen, and while their market share has expanded rapidly, the average market price of perfume has also been suppressed. now young consumers pay more attention to cost-effectiveness and are not very enthusiastic about spending on perfumes that cost thousands of yuan." li wei, a market analyst at beijing hanhai investment company, analyzed to reporters.
the reporter saw on various e-commerce platforms that, taking 50 ml of perfume as an example, the price of imported brands of perfume is mostly above 300 yuan, while the price of domestic brands is mostly below 100 yuan, and some are even only 49.9 yuan or 39.9 yuan.
"because it's cheap, i can buy more perfumes of different brands and scents and change them according to my mood." a consumer told reporters. high cost performance has become the primary condition for most consumers to buy perfume. douyin data shows that perfume products below 56 yuan contribute most of the sales data on the platform, and perfume products below 121 yuan account for about 90% of the perfume sales on the platform.
as consumers develop a strong interest in perfumes, especially domestic perfumes, some inferior perfumes have also appeared on the market, seriously affecting the purchaser's consumption experience. liu qing, a distributor who has opened perfume sales stores on multiple e-commerce platforms, told reporters that the threshold of the perfume market is relatively low at present. some perfume products, from raw materials to perfume blending, and then to canning, pursue cheapness. manufacturers buy some essences, fill them, give them a name based on the current popular smell, and then put a logo on them, and then start selling. because it is cheap, consumers will not ask for a refund for a dozen yuan even if they are not satisfied after purchasing.
liu qing reminded consumers that inferior perfumes have a pungent smell because the raw materials are of substandard quality. for example, ethanol is the main solvent in perfumes, accounting for 60% to 95% of the perfume, which affects the durability and diffusion of the perfume. the ethanol used in perfumes must be specially processed to remove most impurities and reduce the alcohol smell and odor. if inferior ethanol is used to make perfume, the smell is self-evident.
perfume names play with concepts
at present, the main force of perfume consumption is young people, who show distinct personality and self-expression needs in perfume consumption. in order to meet the needs of the market, some manufacturers put more thoughts and energy on the naming of perfumes, start playing with concepts, and ignore the manufacturing process and blending technology of the products.
"my country's perfume market and perfume consumption have very distinct characteristics. 'national tide' is one of the major features. people's identification and pride in traditional culture are also reflected in the fragrance." qin haipeng, a perfumer at a fragrance salon, told reporters.
it is understood that the new chinese fragrance represented by "national style fragrance, oriental fragrance, chinese fragrance" is strong. taobao data shows that the number of oriental fragrance products on taobao tmall in 2023 increased by more than 30% year-on-year. the "national tide" perfumes can feel the chinese cultural connotation from the names, such as "frost tea", "ink smoke", "winter wine", etc. tea also brings inspiration to many perfume merchants, such as "lushan clouds", "white hair silver needle", and "mellow pu'er". a consumer said that he recently liked the new chinese cheongsam, so he bought a perfume called "jiangnan white tea", which goes well with cheongsam and gives people a very gentle feeling.
qin haipeng told reporters that the scents favored by chinese people are different from those favored by europeans and americans, and there are also significant differences between the perceptions of chinese and western people on scent materials. for example, the scents commonly used in incense sticks, such as sandalwood, agarwood and wormwood, as well as tea and medicinal scents, are rooted in traditional culture, and chinese people seem to have a natural familiarity and love for these scents.
the reporter's investigation found that perfume products that can provide emotional value are also particularly popular. many interesting scents have appeared on the market, such as perfumes with novel names such as "house girl fragrance", "house boy fragrance", "white shirt fragrance", "leadership scent", and "northeast cold air".
some consumers told reporters that some personalized perfumes sound interesting and attractive, but the fragrance of the products is not satisfactory. some smell like low-quality fragrances, some have short-lasting fragrances, and some names do not match the smell at all.
it is understood that excellent perfume has a technical threshold, which requires advanced analytical technology and perfume equipment. however, there is a relative shortage of professional and technical personnel in perfume manufacturing in my country, and the manufacturing process needs to be improved.
after-sales service cannot keep up
as perfume sales have increased significantly, after-sales service issues have also increased.
"i used a perfume called juliet with a gun and i liked it very much. i ordered the same one online and found that the smell was completely different from the one i bought before. i found the customer service and asked for a return, but the other party sent a bunch of qualification certificates to prove that they were a compliant agent and said that the smell would become stronger if it was left for a while, which was really annoying." a consumer told reporters.
another consumer said that the perfume he bought smelled wrong, and the customer service asked the consumer to identify it himself and then contact the customer service. "who has the time to identify a bottle of perfume and spend a lot of time defending their rights? many businesses have grasped the mentality of consumers and cheated in after-sales service." said a consumer.
the reporter called the after-sales department of perfume brands such as chloe and eau de parfum and learned that once consumers open the package after receiving the product, they cannot return or exchange it. for consumers, once the package is opened, it cannot be returned or exchanged, but if it is not opened, they cannot know the smell of the perfume, which is a dilemma.
liu qing told reporters that the internet is currently an important channel for perfume sales. many consumers imagine the smell of perfume based on text descriptions, which can easily lead to the problem of returning the product when the smell is different from what they imagined. "we also try to attach a scent test paper when shipping, so that consumers can smell it without opening the package, which is convenient for returns. now we have also launched some trial packs, which can be purchased or given away, all for the purpose of making it easier for consumers to experience the smell and reduce the pressure of after-sales service." (reporter li yanjing)
source: china consumer news
