Sweet Smell of Success - Christmas Perfume Sales Up To £790m

This Christmas is expected to be a boom year for fragrance sales with sales up 6% on last year and a total of £790m to be spent in the UK over the festive season, according to industry experts.

Leading UK beauty and fragrance website Escentual.com is already experiencing a significant increase on 2011 sales figures and anticipates that on average every adult in England and Wales will spend £17.59 each on fragrance gifts this Christmas.

Escentual.com CEO Rakesh Aggarwal said: “This Christmas market for perfume is already shaping up to be the best for since 2008. Early indications have been very positive and we are predicting a 6% increase on last year, and have similar indications from other key players in the market.”

Perfume and luxury goods sales in general are a major indicator for consumer confidence, especially over the Christmas period when the fragrances sold account for over half the total annual sales. And fragrance sales are bucking the trend of much lower retail sales in other areas. Traditionally a massive 54% of the total annual expenditure on perfume is on Christmas presents for loved ones (from October to December). This year it is estimated that £789.9m will be spent on festive gifts, which will bring the total annual spend on perfume in 2012 to £1.46 billion.

Escentual.com CEO Rakesh Aggarwal said: “Part of the reason of the boost to the market has been that there have been some exciting new releases in the perfume market. The James Bond after-shave has been a huge seller and has already made it into the top 10 men’s fragrances and is already outselling big brands like Paco Rabanne, Prada, and Armani. Also the Lady Gaga perfume has sold well and has already broken into the top 10 women’s fragrances this Christmas.”

Escentual.com Beauty Editor Emma Leslie has also compiled the top ten best selling fragrances for men and women in the UK, which are expected to be the most popular Christmas fragrances this year.