Selling Perfume Online: Can You Still Make Money in the Fragrance Market?

Everyone likes to smell good and putting on perfume has become a habit in preparing ourselves for the day. Just like using other body care products, it not only makes us look good but feel good as well. Perfumes and colognes are used widely, across different gender and age groups, so there are plenty of opportunities to enter the market. According to recent studies, 1.64 million Americans spent $500 or more on fragrances in 2018. But with the high number of big name brands and online sellers in the perfume market, is there still a chance for you to compete in the industry?

As you go through this blog, you will learn:

The different types of perfume and the best demographic to target.
What the SaleHoo Labs data says about perfume.
The current market acceptability using other resources.
Tips for selling perfume online and offline.

First, let's tackle the different types of perfume and understand which market segment they fit in.

Types of Perfumes

Perfumes are categorized by scents and fragrance concentrations. They are classified based on the quantity of perfume oils and alcohol used in the production process. Perfume sellers can – and should – eventually become experts at identifying each of the types below:

Parfum: Also known as "Extrait de Parfum" (which translates to Pure Perfume), this type has the highest fragrance concentration (between 15% to 40% fragrance) with a scent that can last between 6 to 8 hours. Due to it's high perfume concentration, they generally have the highest price of all fragrance types.
Eau de Parfum (EDP): This type has the next highest perfume concentration (between 15% and 20%) with scents that can last between 4 to 5 hours. They're generally less expensive than Parfum and while it has a higher alcohol content, this is better than other perfume types and is commonly used for everyday wear.
Eau de Toilette (EDT): A cheaper alternative and is one of the most popular perfume types, eau de toilette has a fragrance concentration between 5% – 15%. These scents can last up to 2 or 3 hours and are much milder which is why they're commonly considered as a daywear, compared to it's eau de parfum counterpart as a nightwear.
Eau de Cologne (EDC): Generally has a lower fragrance concentration of between 2%-4%. It is cheaper with scents lasting up to 2 hours. This normally comes in bigger bottles as is it applied more often. Common cologne aromas are normally citrus, floral, fruity, or even woody scents.
Eau Fraiche: With the lowest fragrance concentration of between 1%-3%, the scent is similar to eau de cologne and can last up to 2 hours. This type has a low fragrance and alcohol content and is mostly diluted with water. Although the scent does not last long on the skin, it's still very popular as it's also price-friendly.

Why Sell Perfumes?

Let's take a look at the SaleHoo Labs data on perfumes to see if it's an eCommerce market worth tapping into. Focusing on the sell rate, average selling price, and competition; it allows us to study how well these products are selling online, based on the latest data from Amazon and eBay.

High Sell Rate

To know if a product is selling well online, it should have a sell rate of at least 50%. The sell rate is the number of successful listings vs the number of total listings for a specific item. Given the results above with certain perfumes, a sell rate of 51% to 69% proves that there is indeed a favorable market for these products.

A quick tip for analyzing the results from the Labs: If the sell rate shows good numbers, look into some common details that make up these positive results. It can be a common type, brand, even color; as these are things that the market is spending their money on. To give you an idea with perfumes, based on the results, it looks like "Perfumes for Women", and types such as "Eau de Toilette" are the most sellable types of perfumes. Take note of the brands featured as well as some buyers are loyal to certain brands. These minor details are helpful, especially in avoiding overstocking should you purchase items in bulk.

Average Selling Price

As mentioned earlier, the Lab results show that more consumers spend $50 – $99 on perfumes. With average price ranging $65-$76 on the 3 examples, you can still maximize your profits by purchasing perfumes at wholesale to get the best price. The good thing about selling perfumes is that they're small in size, meaning they don't take up much storage space and they're easy to ship. Just make sure to follow your supplier's instructions on how to store them to maintain quality.

Low Competition

All 3 examples appear to be low in competition which, gives you a chance at selling perfumes online. This means fewer sellers and fewer product listings, which helps in evading scenarios such as ruthless price competition that can eat into your profit margins. So with fewer options available to consumers, this increases your chances of making a sale.

General Demand

One way to know a product's market acceptability is to use the AffiloTools Keyword Research tool. Results will show you keywords that consumers use when searching for "perfumes" online. Driving viable traffic to your listings is all about keywords. Let's see the results below.

Targeting a local volume of at least 1,000 searches, perfumes are indeed widely accepted in the market with searches reaching 12,100.

Just like the Labs, the search result here show that “perfumes for women” are trending with 6,600 search volume. Men's perfumes are not too far behind showing 2,400 searches. Women tend to be the big spenders when it comes to beauty products so these results may not be so shocking. You may also notice that searches of “top perfumes” has reached 5,400 – it’s one way for people to explore top brands so you may want to follow what’s hot and what’s not to make sure you're staying on trend.

It can be helpful to use some of the top-ranking keywords to identify products that will sell and your target market, as search behaviour often mirrors buyer behaviour.

Tips for Selling Perfumes

When you review the data together, you will see the potential for selling perfumes online. If you decide to become a distributor, you may need to register for a sales tax ID and an investment of at least $1000 to purchase direct from authorized wholesalers.

Fragrance advertising focuses on painting a picture rather than describing the scent. Potential buyers are not able to test out the product so you have to present your ad to capture the emotion of how your consumers will feel when they use the product. With authorized wholesalers, they may be able to provide you with some promotional materials to help you with your marketing plan.

Another simple and inexpensive way to distribute perfumes is by way of dropshipping. Instead of purchasing in bulk, your efforts are more focused on marketing the product and making a sale. The easiest (and cheapest) way to source single items is to purchase from liquidators that also allow dropshipping. Although the stocks are not always available, it allows you to buy & sell designer brand perfumes at a reasonable cost. When you sell items sourced from liquidators, it’s best to use original pictures provided by your supplier, as copying images direct from the manufacturer’s site can be grounds for infringement.

Selling offline? Look into marketing perfumes at local fairs, flea markets, and festivals. Since their sizes are relatively small, you can bring along these perfumes in bulk without needing too much space, so it’s easy for you to setup your stall. Print out simple brochures and showcase them in different areas as it helps in getting the word out about your products.

Over to You!

We have perfume suppliers that all ship globally and that we have verified as safe and legitimate. You can access them instantly here in our directory.

Let us know if you're selling perfumes online and share your success story with us! Also, please feel free to leave your comments below and let us know if we've missed something.

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Disclaimer: The information published here is strictly for informational purposes. All above product items are only suggestions for possible products which will sell favorably, and should be used as a guide only. At the time of writing, all above products were researched using methods recommend by SaleHoo and found to be potentially profitable for sellers. All sellers are encouraged to conduct their own market and product research.