I smell it in the store and buy it in the metaverse. Could this be the new reality of perfume? If it is not, it is very close. If there were two concepts or processes that stuck with the expert community during the past Digital Beauty Summit – the exclusive knowledge forum on e-commerce and digital transformation in the Spanish beauty industry, promoted by Beauty Cluster – it was these:
That consumers are exhausted from hearing about olfactory families and other perfume terms when accessing or searching for perfume in e-commerce. They need something more real: to be understood and recognized as soon as they arrive. And that starts with full and conscious attention to their needs. And, most importantly, either it unites the online with the physical store or it will not move forward. It is clear that the coexistence of the two channels is indisputable and very necessary. To sum it up.
If you want to build a brand, travel to the metaverse. It was clear, especially after the presentation by Irma Ugarte, Regional Marketing Director of LVMH, that the metaverse is more present and more real than we imagine.
The consumer in the perfumery sector is omnichannel
To achieve the first objective, you have to follow the consumer, and pick up the clues they leave; especially in the online channel. This is the only way to ensure that they have a personalized and positive experience. And success lies in offering them the right offer so that they feel the same as they do at the physical point of sale. And for that you need to have well-integrated data, as Camila Tomás, Vice-president of Innovation & Technology at Puig explained.
Each consumer is unique, you don’t know how much time they are going to spend with you, or when, but knowing about them is essential for the final experience you are expecting. We cannot forget that shopping is still the number one leisure activity in Western society. How to make a brand fall in love with digital media? It is possible. For Fernando Estebán of Rituals, omnichannel is essential, working from two perspectives, online and in-store.
“Brands that want to thrive should aim for a 20% DTC business.”
- The best and most prepared staff are the ones who should serve the customer
- Performance must be measured.
- Integrate data, which will make us effective.
What does the metaverse smell like?
“It serves to create a brand” This is how Irma, from Givenchy, put it so emphatically, with experience as an argument. To be bold, to be daring, to take the first step, to show the values of your brand in every act, in every decision you make, is to take positions in front of your competition. Nothing is as seductive as having what you preach be seen. And if you have a strong and avant-garde brand, try launching it in the metaverse?
Armani has just done it, on the occasion of the launch of its men’s fragrance, Armani Code Parfum, has revolutionized this parallel world – where they are already bought, smelled, and events are created for lovers of perfumes and avant-garde – with a video game to create a perfume.
The game around perfume is the tool used to engage these new users.
The truth is that many brands have already seen the potential of the metaverse as a way to create community but also to educate, to give value to their brand, and to build loyalty among younger buyers, using their own tools and on their own turf. Such an initiative is not at all negligible, but rather highly desirable.
The study “Into the Metaverse” by Wunderman Thompson Intelligence has already determined how retail is changing, the way we consume and relate to brands, and all that this new three-dimensional conversation is generating.
In the end, it’s all about listening to your customer, observing and understanding their needs in order to – as we said at the beginning – provide the best shopping experience in memory, anticipating their needs. And without data, it is almost impossible,
Do you think perfume will end up enveloping the Metaverse?
