According to the market researcher’s data, approximately one in five (19 percent) of consumers it questioned in a poll are planning on buying fragrance as a gift for the upcoming holiday season.
The figure shows a 2 percent increase on the same period last year, when a similar poll reflected the concerns of consumers who were worried about the impact of the economic downturn and the effect it was having on their spending power.
Despite unemployment exceeding 10 percent in the US this month, the latest poll reflects increasing optimism that there is light at the end of the tunnel and that consumers believe in their spending power.
“It will be interesting to see how all this translates into prestige department fragrance sales, especially as we have seen a number of important new women’s fragrances begin to roll out in stores and retailers also offering consumers attractive promotions,” said Karen Grant, vice president and global industry analyst, for the Group.
Recent major launches in time for the holiday period include new fragrances from big celebrities such as Britney Spears and Paris Hilton, who already have top selling fragrances bearing their name through endorsements with Elizabeth Arden and Parlux respectively.
NPD says that the US fragrance market for the first nine months of the year was valued at $1.38bn, representing a steep fall of 11 per cent compared to the same period last year.
However, the market research group believes that the final quarter, which is traditionally the best selling period for fragrances because of the holiday season, should help to bump this figure up thanks to anticipated activity at the premium end of the market.
In particular it is expected that fragrance ‘juices’ - both in the $75 -$99.99 price category and the $100 and over category - are expected to drive sales in the last three months of the year, as they accounted for sales growth of 2 percent and 4 percent respectively during the first nine months of the year.