Founder Q&A: iRomaScents tech supports consumer fragrance shopping evolution

iRomaScents has introducing a new technology aimed at transforming how consumers select and sample fragrances. By providing personalized scent recommendations and streamlining the sampling process, iRomaScents aims to reduce customer confusion and fragrance fatigue.

In this CosmeticsDesign Q&A, founders Avner Gal and Erin Berry discuss their technology's potential collaboration with retailers, its benefits for the fragrance industry, and how it could impact both the shopping experience and retail sales.

CDU: Can you provide an overview of iRomaScents and its impact on the fragrance industry, particularly in terms of potential collaboration with retailers?

Avner Gal (AG)​: Typically, retailers carry hundreds of products in their portfolio to offer customers. However, when there are too many options to choose from and too many similar options, this can create customer confusion.

This is especially true within the fragrance industry where customers are forced to test each and every scent to discover which one they like the most. This can cause fragrance fatigue, your body's natural desensitization to similar smells over time.

To tackle this issue, iRomaScents is the fragrance technology transforming how shoppers select, sample and purchase perfumes, colognes and natural fragrances. Designed to match the modern shopping experience customers are looking for, the iRomaScents system creates a uniquely autonomous, on-demand testing experience based on customers’ preferences and characteristics.

The digital platform privately asks shoppers questions, such as their favorite scents, how they want to feel when they wear a fragrance and desired price range, etc., to find the perfect, personalized option with sample spritzes along the way.

From a retailer perspective, retailers will benefit from increased revenue due to a greater conversion ratio and a streamlined system that facilitates faster purchases. Additionally, the option exists to direct customers to current promotions, further driving sales and reducing stock levels.

Furthermore, iRomaScents removes the need to lock fragrances behind glass to prevent theft and can be easily attached to a display or table for consumer use.

The iRomaScents system is also a valuable tool for data collection and analysis, providing retailers with valuable insights into consumer shopping habits and preferences, including the most popular scents, anonymous customer information such as age, and more. This data can be used to optimize product placement, tailor promotions, and ultimately, increase profitability.

CDU: How does iRomaScents imagine collaborating with retailers to enrich the fragrance selection experience for customers?

AG​: Each iRomaScents device has the capacity to hold 45 different fragrances at once, all of which are easily replaceable and refillable. With the ability to simultaneously control up to three different iRomaScents devices at once, thus holding 135 fragrances at a single “station,” the iRomaScents system makes it easier for customers to find their match.

When choosing which fragrances to promote, retailers have the ability to select within the iRomaScents system, encouraging customers to try them and boost sales. The iRomaScents system is offered to retailers and sales staff as a useful tool to streamline sales and apply less pressure to the customer, so they can easily select and test their desired fragrance and store staff can execute the sale efficiently.

CDU: What specific challenges or opportunities do you see in collaborating with retailers to ensure the quality and variety of fragrances available through the iRomaScents platform?

Erin Berry (EB)​: The iRomaScents system provides many opportunities for retailers in regard to quality and variety of fragrances offered.

Another benefit offered is the customization of the digital platforms. Retailers have the option to add in their logo to the screen to provide one-of-a-kind customization to that location or that business. 

That said, challenges can arise when retailers do not have enough scents to fill the iRomaScents device. The device is meant to hold up to 45 fragrances to provide the consumer with as many options as possible to choose from. Naturally, if a store only offers 10 fragrances, consumers will have less options to explore and may be less likely to find their perfect scent.

Furthermore, we are used to the age-old process of selecting our scent by endless blind testing and smelling. With the use of the AI Wizard, iRomaScents allows users to input their preferences to match them with their perfect fragrance, offering a completely new and seamless experience.

CDU: Could you elaborate on how iRomaScents utilizes data collected from customers to optimize the fragrance selection process and provide personalized recommendations to the buyer?

EB​: Within the iRomaScents system, the AI Wizard is where the magic happens. The Wizard, through an intuitive questioning process, guides the customer towards a curated collection based on their preferences.

Based on their responses, the Wizard and iRomaScents objectively and discreetly provides recommendations that meet the customer’s specific criteria.

This data is anonymously collected by the iRomaScents system to provide retailers with an analysis from the customer selection process, including cross analysis such as the age of the customer, preferred ingredient scents, most popular items selected, and more. These valuable insights into consumer shopping habits and preferences can be used by retailers to optimize product placement, tailor promotions, and ultimately, increase profitability.

In addition, the collected data may be used to improve marketing efforts, promoting the most popular scents chosen.

CDU: What kind of support or resources does iRomaScents provide to retailers to ensure seamless integration with the iRomaScents technology and platform?

AG​: iRomaScents offers strong customer support to its users, providing assistance and resolving any issues whenever they occur. Our customer support team is also offered in-store to assist with installation, troubleshooting, and fragrance refills. Our system was developed in such a way to be free of infrastructure needs. iRomaScents is a small, battery-operated device that is easy to use.

CDU: How does iRomaScents see its collaboration with retailers contributing to the overall growth and innovation of the fragrance industry?

EB​: Data monitoring and analysis is an important part of any industry and provides a look into what products consumers are gravitating towards, which products they aren’t buying, and more. Through the iRomaScents system, we can provide a valuable data collection and analysis tool to provide retailers with insights into their customer shopping habits and preferences, which in turn, can be used to optimize product placement, tailor promotions, and ultimately, increase profitability.

Retailers will benefit from increased revenue due to a greater conversion ratio and a streamlined system that facilitates faster purchases. Additionally, the option exists to direct customers to current promotions, further driving sales and reducing stock levels.

CDU: What measures does iRomaScents take to ensure transparency and sustainability in its partnerships?

AG​: iRomaScents provides subscription model to their business partners, the service includes maintenance and data analysis on site.   

CDU: In what ways do you envision the collaboration between iRomaScents and retailers shaping the future of fragrance creation and consumption?

EB​: We envision a future where every fragrance will have a chance to match its new owner (buyer) and where the retailer can see the specific data analytics to arrange for the most popular products to be available in-store. We envision this data will be used to outline the top performing fragrances from the lower performing ones, allowing for the rotation and retiring of certain fragrances so new trends can emerge.