The acceleration of digitization, spurred by COVID-19, is transforming industries, including fragrance.
Our new reality requires new safety measures that limit touch, and, as visitor capacity and store hours are reduced, retailers and brands are forced to develop new solutions. Yet scent’s unique sensory properties pose challenges and opportunities for fragrance discovery both on and offline.
With customers used to freely sampling products, the inability to touch testers in-store and the reintroduction of sales personnel to facilitate fragrance discovery at a 6-foot distance may not be ideal. Individual spray samples could be an answer, yet they are costly. Shiseido recently announced their exclusive partnership with iD Scent’s Scentouch sampling, and Arcade Beauty, amidst their wide variety of offerings, has developed the ScentTalker, which can be docked onto an existing display. All a customer has to do is pull on a tab to obtain an individual peel-off scent sample.
With the currently available solutions, the true challenge lies in creating a safe and elevated experience that is true to a brand and allows a brand to better serve its customers today and in the future. For this, digitization is key.
For the full article, please check out Perfumer & Flavorist's September 2020 issue.
