The Online Perfume Industry Chris Butsko Srinath Nagarajan Yuenman (Priscilla) Pang

Major Players in Online Perfume Industry FragranceNet LaParfumerie Perfumania MyPerfume Fascination Perfumery LoveMart The Fragrance Counter Jasmin.com

A Sample Front Page

Basics Consumers do not need to sign up online with perfume company Can shop anytime anywhere where they have access to web interface Go to the web site, select perfumes (or other products if provided), pay using credits cards (some sites also accept checks and money order), and arrange for shipping

A Sample Signup Page

A Sample Perfume Store

Online Perfume Industry Who are the customers? –“Over the past ten years, Perfumania, Inc. focused on developing a chain of discount retail fragrance stores to meet the needs of today’s fashion-conscious, value-oriented consumers.” (Source: Perfumania)

Who are the customers? –International customers => FragranceNet offers shipping worldwide Online Perfume Industry

How do they attract customers? –Affiliation Program (FragranceNet, LaParfumerie) –Great Discounts (All) –Low price guarantee, beat competitor’s price by 5% (FragranceNet) –Free Shipping and worldwide (FragranceNet) –Free wrapping (FragranceNet, LaParfumerie) –Gift with every order (FragranceNet) –Personalized service (FragranceNet, Perfumania) –Also provide complementary products like, cosmetics, hair/body care, accessories, Lingerie, etc. (LaParfumerie, Lovemart) –Word of mouth (all) –Media Advertising (all) –Direct mail (FragranceNet, LaParfumerie, Perfumania) Online Perfume Industry

What types of value-added do the firms provide? –Advanced Search Criteria Special methods for you to explore collections of fragrances and find the ideal one. –Search by brand to browse hundreds of fragrances for both men and womenbrand –Search by fragrance family for descriptive characteristics such as aromatic, fresh, floral and orientalfragrance family –Search by interesting ideas, such as unique bottles, teens, classics etc.interesting ideas –Inform, Educate and Entertain Magazine – Ex. JASMIN Magazine Search criteria like “fragrance family” help educate users about fragrances

Online Perfume Industry What types of value-added do the firms provide? –REMINDER Services Ex. In FragranceNet.com, members of a club get notifications of birthdays, anniversaries and other important dates –Higher Buyer-Seller Interaction Ex. In FragranceNet.com, customers can speak to a fragrance specialist via or a toll free number –Address Net-Buyer Concerns High security. Ex. Billing Address must match credit card address for the card to get accepted

Online Perfume Industry How do they get potential customers to try the products? –Experience good –Price Guarantee Ex. Fragrancenet.com guarantees that it will beat any competitors price by 5%! –Offer promotions/guarantees to bring in potential customers Free US shipping and handling (FragranceNet) Free gift wrapping (FragranceNet, LaParfumerie) Free gift with each order (FragranceNet, PerfumeShop) Guarantee to beat any competitor’s price by 5% (FragranceNet)

Online Perfume Industry How do they get potential customers to try the products? –Free samples Jasmin.com – only with registration –Strategic alliances to distribute samples to customers of Vendors of related or other goods –Ex. Online book stores, drug stores etc. Service providers –Ex. providers, ISP’s, Online Communities

Online Perfume Industry Turning one-shot customers into repeat customers –Personalized services (increases switching costs) FragranceNet offers a “Reminder Club” in which a consumer enters personally important dates (birthdays, anniversaries, holidays), and receives an from the company as a reminder of an upcoming date Perfumania offers fragrance consultants to provide customers with personalized service and expert advice –Offering complementary products Perfume Center offers a link to HandyCraft.com, where hand crafted goods may be purchased Perfumania offers bath/body products, aromatherapy products, and an electronic greeting card service at its web site –Excellent customer service Variety of companies offer an 800 number to talk to fragrance specialist if cannot locate a scent Also provides a store locator to find out where stores are for customer to buy a certain perfume