Fragrance is up.

In response to Circana, the category saw 13 percent and 11 percent growth in dollar sales within the prestige and mass markets, respectively, in the course of the first half of 2023.

“The mass numbers are so strong, it’s almost [growing at] the identical rate as prestige; that’s somewhat unusual because typically, fragrance on the mass side will not be as dynamic a market. Fragrance could be very much a prestige business,” said Larissa Jensen, vice chairman of beauty at Circana.

While average price increases and latest innovation — like Maesa’s Advantageous’ry brand — are driving growth in mass dollar sales, the channel has seen a 3 percent decrease in unit sales in the course of the first half. (“It’s something we’re seeing across the board with many of the mass categories, where dollars are growing somewhat significantly, but units are soft,” Jensen said).

Prestige, meanwhile, is up a healthy 8 percent in unit sales.

“Stronger concentrations — eau de parfums and colognes — make up around 60 percent of sales, and there’s been an almost immediate return to brick-and-mortar [shopping] once it was available,” said Jensen, noting roughly 80 percent of fragrance purchases are made in-person.

The highest prestige and mass fragrance brands by dollar sales within the U.S. in the course of the first half of 2023, per Circana.

Prestige:

Mass: