Fragrance chain benefits from click and collect boost

Tuesday, June 11, 2013 - 15:52 by Sarah Collinson

Sales at The Fragrance Shop were up by 15 per cent year on year, according to its latest financials, with the company putting the increase down to its pursuit of customers via safe shopping online.

As well as opening a number of new bricks and mortar outlets in the last 12 months, this retailer has made it possible for people to order perfumes and colognes from its e-commerce site and then pick them up in person the same day from their nearest store.

Profits were also up and almost a fifth of all sales at The Fragrance Shop are now generated by safe shopping online, in combination with the click & collect service.

Another innovation which has been made possible thanks to web sales, is something called Try It First, which basically means that customers who order a fragrance get a free tester as part of the package.

This allows them to test out the scent without opening the main bottle of it, so that those who are unhappy with the fragrance can return it in pristine condition and get their money back.

It is the equivalent of being able to try on clothes before you buy them, or more accurately the returns system which operates for online fashion services.

Company spokesperson, Sanjay Vandera, said that while The Fragrance Shop relies on its high street outlets for most of its business, it is keen to embrace e-commerce as a means to help grow sales and improve customer relations.

He said that the multichannel approach was vital today, since consumer habits have changed and most people now expect to be able to harness services like click and collect when they do business with retailers. This strategy bodes well for the company over the coming year.