Men’s fragrance sales are up 6 percent, compared to 4 percent growth in women’s fragrance, reports NPD
Port Washington, NY, June 5, 2019 – Year-to-date U.S. Prestige Beauty fragrance sales have experienced a 5 percent increase compared to the same period a year ago, driven by strong growth in men’s fragrance sales (+6 percent)1. While beauty may not be top-of-mind for Father’s Day, research from The NPD Group shows that the men’s fragrance category typically sees a lift around the holiday.
In fact, men’s fragrance sales grew by 10 percent – representative of a nearly $8.0 million gain – during the two weeks leading up to Father’s Day in 20182. Men’s juice sales comprised the largest contribution to this increase, driving $6.9 million dollars in incremental sales for the same period.
“The men’s fragrance business continues to enjoy steady growth and not only during times of gift-giving,” stated Larissa
Jensen, Beauty Industry Analyst, The NPD Group. “While holidays and new product launches create excitement around men’s fragrances, the release of luxury concentrations like perfumes among several of the top-performing brands currently account for what’s driving growth in the market.”
Consumers have come to better understand the value of highly concentrated formulations, which tend to be more potent and long-lasting. In the two weeks prior to Father’s Day 2018, sales of these more concentrated juices grew by $6.6 million and drove 85 percent of the category growth. And NPD data indicates a potential reason for this trend. Based on NPD’s Scentiments survey, 35 percent of men indicated that they prefer to wear a scent that not only can they smell, but that others can smell as well3.
“Looking at 2019, we expect a successful Father’s Day not only due to increased demand for luxury concentrations, but also due to increasing interest in artisanal brands,” Jensen added. “These types of brands are growing not only in popularity but also in distribution, giving the consumer even more options this Father’s Day than have historically been available.”
During June 2018, the niche artisanal category grew 13 percent, and it continues to be the fastest growing brand type within men’s fragrance, up 25 percent year-to-date.
1 Source: The NPD Group / U.S. Prestige Beauty Total Measured Market, Q1 2019 vs. Q1 2018
2 Source: The NPD Group / U.S. Prestige Beauty Total Measured Market Weekly, June 3 -16, 2018.
3 Source: The NPD Group / Scentiments, 2018
Coinciding with the National Retail
Federation calendar, dollar sales in 2018 are adjusted to account for the
addition of a 53rd week into 2018.