Exclusives

Targeting Brazil’s Fragrance Consumers

Direct sales is the main fragrance purchase channel in Brazil, but there is space for other sales formats.

June 11, 2013

By: Iris Ramirez

beauty and personal care analyst at Mintel

Iris Ramirez, Beauty & Personal Care Analyst at Mintel.

The highlights of profile per sales channel—gender, age, region, and socio-economic group, in 2012. BASE: 1,385 adults aged 16+ who own and use fragrances. Source: Ipsos Observer Brazil/Mintel

In Brazil, direct sales is the main fragrance purchase channel, and this makes it one of the most unique markets in the world—very different, for example, from the U.S. where the main purchase channels are department stores and specialist beauty shops.

According to Mintel’s research with Brazilian consumers of fragrances:

More than a third (35%) are buying fragrances from franchises

A significant one in five consumers purchase them in supermarkets (20%) and fragrance shops (19%)

The percentage of consumers who buy from the direct sales channel is 59%

In spite of the importance of direct sales, it is quite clear that channels such as franchises, supermarkets, and fragrance shops are an important part of the current structure of fragrance sales, and the average number of places visited for the purchase of fragrances, 1.6 channels in the last 12 months, suggests that many consumers buy in more than one type of channel.

It is possible to identify, for each sales channel, a specific demographic, which must be taken into consideration by brand strategies.

The Stats

The chart above shows:

“The highlights of profile per sales channel—gender, age, region, and socio-economic group, in 2012”.

Consumers were asked, “Thinking about buying fragrance for yourself or as a gift in the last 12 months, where did you buy it?”

Women are the Biggest Buyers

The biggest buyers of fragrances in direct sales are women (67% of

The biggest buyers of fragrances in direct sales are women.

women compared to 50% of men).

They have an older skew; 71% of adults aged 55+ compared to 63% of those aged 16-24. They tend to live in the North and Northeast regions (76% and 74%, respectively), and a higher proportion is from socio-economic group C2DE 63% compared to 56% of ABC1s.

Considering that the group aged 55+ showed the lowest rate of usage, it is important to stimulate the entry of more mature nonusers, and direct sales has a vital role in this mission as it is an important channel in this consumer profile.

Another profile that stands out in the direct sales channel are the North and Northeast regions and lower socio-economic groups; after all, this model has a great importance, both in reaching consumers in the most remote areas of the country, as well as generating additional income for many families. Launches that have a regional and cultural appeal are good examples of how to strengthen brands in these regions.

However, franchises attract a middle-high socio-economic group profile and Mintel’s research confirms this, highlighting the difference between the socio-economic groups that purchase fragrances in franchises. Therefore, the important regions for the channel are the ones with a higher concentration of groups ABs, and the regions where these groups are more represented are Central-West and South.

On the other hand, supermarkets and drug stores are opportunities to target men, since Mintel’s research show that these two places of purchase are significant among men.