Does Gen Z smell better?
Gen Z are changing the fragrance industry
Welcome to the latest edition of The Gen Zer. This week we discuss how Gen Z are changing the fragrance industry. (Smells like teen spirit, anyone?) We also take a look at how bars are trying to entice Gen Z out, a few things Zers have been rediscovering, and why young people feel so guilty about leaving their desks.
Does Gen Z smell better?
I’m (mostly) joking, but it’s true that Gen Zers are spending far more on fragrances than ever before. We’re more engaged with the fragrance industry than Millennials and are the generation most likely to purchase perfume for themselves.
We aren’t just buying more, either. Over the past decade, the average price of a bottle of eau de parfum has doubled, and luxury fragrances have become ever more mainstream. Scents like YSL’s Black Opium or Marc Jacobs Perfect have become incredibly popular amongst the younger generations for a whole number of reasons (helped along by an ever-increasing number of influencers); in total, the perfume sector is expected to grow to €42.4 billion in 2025. Some see this as another sign of Gen Z’s money dysmorphia, particularly amid a cost of living crisis, although what’s interesting is the changing relationship that Gen Z have with fragrance.
For hundreds (if not thousands) of years, fragrance and perfumes have been viewed as a way of boosting your attractiveness. In the heavily-perfumed court of King Louis XIV, cologne was a status symbol and a luxury restricted to the royalty and the nobility. In ancient Rome, Emperor Nero had silver pipes installed so that he could spritz his guests with rosewater.
For Gen Z, however, fragrance is less about how it makes others view you, and more about how you view yourself. Some people see a particular scent almost as part of their identity, the way you might identify with a favourite hoodie or a certain piece of jewellery. Fragrance is also increasingly viewed as a mood booster, a way to calm anxiety, to express yourself, to make yourself feel good at the start of the day. For many Zers, it’s a form of escape.
In 2024, the wellness and beauty market is expected to reach over $670 billion—an annual growth of 9%. Fragrance is a substantial part of this, but it’s interesting that it seems to be moving away from the ‘beauty’ side of things more towards the ‘wellness’ side instead. It was a change that was catalysed by covid and the subsequent mental health pandemic amongst young people. During and after the lockdown years, wellness became much more of a focus — we’re drinking less, taking up running clubs, eating more consciously — and fragrance is a part of this, albeit a less obvious one. (Home fragrances are taking off, too, as wellness becomes more holistic and more of a lifestyle.)
Tiktok failed to load.Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browser
What’s also changing is the way that perfume and gender interact. Annual spending on fragrance by male teens apparently increased by 26% in just one year, and a similar trend can be seen with older Gen Z men, too. The types of scents they’re buying are changing too, pushed by various TikTok trends, like #PerfumeTok and #Smellmaxxing, with a greater demand for unisex fragrances.
So, what’s behind the booming fragrance market? TikTok is partly responsible, as you might expect, with the platform being the second-highest influence on Gen Z’s fragrance purchasing decisions. It’s not just influencers working on a brand deal, either. Perfume companies themselves are taking to the platform to create a narrative around their scents, and showing off the story behind the ingredients, too. Given the prices many of these perfumes are going for, the narrative is perhaps a necessary one — an explanation for why such a small bottle can be so expensive.
For these designer brands, a renewed focus on fragrance is becoming an essential way of surviving a turbulent luxury market. Amidst an industry downturn, the fragrance sector is one thing defying the odds, partly because many Gen Zers view even luxury fragrance as an essential, whereas luxury clothes or jewellery or handbags are still just luxuries (i.e. the first things to go in a cost of living crisis).
Selling perfume is also a good way to capture future customers at an earlier stage. Many Zers wouldn’t be able to drop $2,000 on a handbag, but $150 on a scent is an expense they could theoretically afford. For the Zer in question, they get to aspire to a more ‘luxurious’ lifestyle, whilst for the brand, they can begin building brand loyalty at an earlier stage. If the young consumer keeps wearing that scent over the years, they’ll presumably be more likely to shop from that brand when they’re older and wealthier — and can afford the handbags.
Tiktok failed to load.Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browser
Celebrities appearing in perfume adverts is nothing new, of course, and yet in recent years luxury brands do seem to be splashing the cash on catching the attention of Gen Z. Chanel just released a new ad featuring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi, two of the most well-known (and likely well-loved) celebrities amongst Gen Z. They even got Luca Guadagnino (best known for films like Call Me By Your Name and Challengers) to direct it. A little while before that, they got Timothée Chalamet and Martin Scorsese together to shoot a longer spot. Nothing says ‘attempting to win over Gen Z’ quite like getting Timothée, Margot and Jacob involved, not to mention Scorsese and Guadagnino. All they were missing was Greta Gerwig directing Zendaya.
The flipside of this (and part of the reason why luxury is struggling) is the rise of dupe culture. Ten years ago, wearing a ‘fake’ wouldn’t exactly be something to advertise, but nowadays finding and owning a dupe doesn’t have the same connotations. This is particularly true when it comes to fragrance, since once it comes out of the bottle there’s no visible difference between a $300 perfume and a cheaper one that smells similar. Gen Z influencers are becoming incredibly quick at finding copycats of expensive bottles.
So, do Gen Zers smell better? I think my colleagues might object if I tried to check for certain, although it’s certainly true that our generation is focusing more and more on our health, our hobbies — and apparently how we smell, too.
See also:
Gen Z around the Web
the latest stories in youth culture and changing trends . . .
Gen Z workers skip lunch and feel 4X guiltier than Boomers when they leave their desk (fortune)
Apparently Gen Z are the generation most likely to skip lunch, with over half of young workers saying they miss the meal twice a week. We’re also four times more likely than Boomers to feel guilty for taking a break from work. This is likely down in part to entering the workforce during the pandemic, as well as simply being new the working altogether, although these aren’t the only factors. Read more
Bridget Jones is back in fashion with Gen Z (bbc)
Bridget Jones went straight to many people’s hearts in the 1990s, and now a new generation is finding a connection with Helen Fielding’s heroine. The author recently spoke about Bridget Jones finding a new audience with Gen Z, saying that she sees similarities between Bridget and some friends of her 18-year-old daughter. “I’m really happy when 18-year-olds and 20-year-olds come with their books and talk to me about it and say that they find it comforting to laugh at these things.” Read more
How Gen Z fell in love with cottage cheese (the telegraph)
In other extremely serious Gen Z news, the generation also seems to be rediscovering the joys of . . . cottage cheese. This is part of a much wider trend we’ve been seeing recently towards high-protein diets; Gen Zers are looking for protein in seemingly everything these days, from desserts to plant-based snacks, as part of a wider drive towards health. It’s a #wellness autumn. Read more
Gen Z and Millennials now account for almost a third of all investors (this is money)
According to BlackRock, 30% more 25 to 34-year-olds started investing over the past year, caused in part by the rise in easy-to-use investment platforms, advertisements on social media, and the buzz around cryptocurrencies. Zers are also more likely to seek alternative assets beyond traditional stocks, diversifying into sectors like tech and green energy. Read more
How pubs and bars are adapting to Gen Z, the homebody generation (bon appetit)
Many Zers turned 18 (or 21) during the pandemic, and so got pretty used to nights in and socialising at home. In order to lure them back out — or even out for the very first time — pubs and bars are reinventing themselves by creating comfortable, more home-like environments. Some are even going as far as to replicate the vibe of a house party. Read more
That’s all for this week! Make sure to subscribe for the latest on Gen Z and youth culture, and check out The Common Thred for a weekly roundup of the latest news, trends and thought pieces.
See ya soon,
spot on!! having a signature scent is so important to me :)
fiyahh