Sales of refillable beauty products and their refills across France’s selective perfumery channel are dynamic, says The NPD Group. In addition to the more mature refillable fragrance segment, refillable make-up has logged the strongest growth, while the nascent skincare segment also has strong potential when it comes to refills.
In France’s selective perfumery channel, sales of refillable products have increased 50% to €158m in the 10 months between January and the end of October 2022, reveals new research from The NPD Group. Driven by heightened ecological awareness among consumers, the refill segment outperformed the overall selective beauty market, which saw sales growth of 20% in the same period.
Refillable make-up boom
By segment, make-up has seen the strongest growth. Sales of refillable make-up products and make-up refills were up by 122% between January and the end of October 2022. Accounting nonetheless for just 2% of the total prestige make-up market, these products are “opening up new horizons to brands and retailers,” notes The NPD Group. While refillable make-up is gaining ground, industry observers tell Luxe Packaging Insight that the proliferation of premium items offering limited-edition packaging tend to encourage consumers not to refill, but to purchase the full product.
Spotting skincare's potential
Skincare, meanwhile, is even more of a nascent segment when it comes to refills, representing just 1% of total prestige skincare products sales. Sales of refillable skincare products nonetheless increased 30% during the first ten months of 2022. And demonstrating refill formats' ability to create loyalty among customers, sales of refills were up 46% during the period.
Fragrance refills ahead of the pack
Refillable options are the most developed in the fragrance category. Sales of refillable fragrance flacons grew by 56% in the year to October 2022, accounting for 6% of the total fragrance market. Growth has been spurred by greater number of refillable fragrances on the market – according to The NPD Group, three out of the five top-selling fragrances during the period are refillable. These are Paco Rabanne's Fame, Prada Paradoxe and Guerlain's Aqua Allegoria Nerolia Vetiver.
France is outpacing Europe and North America on the refillable perfume front, the research shows; fragrance refills and refillable products account for 8% of sales in France, compared with 6% in Europe and just 3% in North America.
However, Mathilde Lion, Beauty Expert Europe at The NPD Group, cautions that there is still a long road ahead: “Refills currently account for only 2% of fragrance sales, with a more modest growth rate of 21%. Their impact will be greater when consumers become loyal to their perfume and make repeat purchases. New fragrances launched with a refillable version must be given time to build customer loyalty and this will take several months. On the other hand, we are already identifying growth opportunities in the launch of refillable versions for the market's leading fragrances that have demonstrated their ability to build loyalty over the years."
