Lancôme Fragrance Strategy at the beauty leader : Sephora

When shopping for cosmetics, today’s customers look for a brand that appeals to a wide audience rather than just the stereotypical makeup-loving girl. Customers demand a brand that fulfils their needs by restocking well-loved products and placing emerging products on shelves.

At Sephora, each brand has its own station. This applies for skin care and make up. However, Fragrances are usually on the top left or top right, women and men’s fragrance are separated, and the brands are next to each other’s. These are listed in alphabetical order. You’ll find Lancôme under “L comme Lancôme”

Collection disposition :

At most Sephoras, “La Vie est Belle » is the most visible perfume (top or middle shelf) at the lancome station since it is their best seller. It generally comes in three different scents:

-La vie est belle

-La vie est belle en rose

-La vie est belle intensément

And a billboard of Julia Robert with the Eiffel Tower in the background to strengthen the image of optimism and enthusiasm.

Idole, being the latest perfume of Lancôme, is also presented with its different scents:

-Idôle

-Idôle intense

-Idôle Aura

-Idôle nectar

Some old perfumes such as Miracle are also displayed on lower shelves.

Most of the visuals use a light pink shade of color, showcasing the perfume itself as well as the packaging

Assistance:

Several saleswomen are there for your assistance. I personally spoke with a saleswoman to help me choose between different scents of Idôle. She guided me by listing the different ingredients and vibes that each of the fragrances reflect. She also tried to get more information about my fragrance needs such as budget, size, day/night perfume…Overall, she was very nice and helpful. Her expertise in the Lancôme fragrance history made my purchase smoother and more beneficial.

Digital assistance :

That includes the Sephora Fragrance IQ, an online or in-store quiz that accounts for scent notes like floral or fruity, and other fragrance characteristics, to match customers with a selection of perfumes best suited to their preferences. The method takes after Sephora's Color IQ, a tool that scans customers' skin tones and matches them with a number corresponding to the right shades of foundation.

“This tool helps filter our thousands of fragrance options to unveil personalized recommendations based on a number of different filters that can be tailored to the client: specific notes, general scent family preferences, other fragrances they like, personality type,” said Banwart. “We're always looking for ways to enhance this.”

Sephora's IQ programs are useful for giving customers a reason to keep returning to the retailer, acting like a modern loyalty program

Best practices in the fragrance sales:

“We know that finding a fragrance is a personal experience, but it needs to be simplified and smart as it can be an overwhelming selection process,”

Advertising in the sales area is particularly important in perfumery. The primary marketing objective of perfume POS is to sufficiently stimulate the potential customer to create an impulse to buy. Arousing this emotional reaction is particularly easy with products generating a sensory experience, such as the olfactory power of perfumes.

The tester bottles are also excellent purchase triggers. All the presentation of the products and the atmosphere of the store must encourage the customer to this first interactivity that the test represents. The way certain products are highlighted, at the top of the gondola for example, will create this first contact with the product.

Best practices in Sephora:

Sephora customers like the “hunt” for their new favorite items. Releasing limited-time only promotions make sense at Sephora; customers tend to treat exclusive products like a game. If your brand can create something buzz-worthy that is only available for a short amount of time, your consumers (especially those active on social media) will spread the word to hype up the product.