Fragrant fragrance gross sales buck gloom on High Street as customers search for ‘small luxuries’

Hard-pressed consumers looking for ‘small luxuries’ have helped drive a sharp rise in perfume sales.

Sales of scents rose 11 per cent by volume last year, according to Debenhams. 

The retailer’s chief executive Dan Finley said that fragrance was ‘one of the most resilient categories in beauty’ due to consumers wanting to treat themselves despite stubborn inflation.

As a slump in the wider luxury industry persists, shoppers are buying designer scents, including YSL – advertised by singer Dua Lipa – and Armani, as a way to own something from a high-end brand. 

Perfume makes up 61 per cent of total beauty sales at the Debenhams group, whose brands include Boohoo and Karen Millen.

The group is seeing a growing appetite for food-inspired fragrances. Market research firm Mintel believes that the boom is partly down to users of weight-loss drugs wanting to smell sweet foods instead of eating them.

Small luxuries: Sales of scents, including YSL – advertised by singer Dua Lipa, pictured, rose 11% by volume last year, according to figures from retailer Debenhams