Seasonal Scents Sense

Personal care products have attained a new prominence in the gift industry. A recent Unity Marketing report states that of all discretionary consumer purchases, personal care and cosmetic products rank fourth, outselling even candles. But adding personal care products to your merchandise mix is not quite as straightforward as adding categories such as decorative accessories. It's a seasonal thing.

Throughout the year, skin needs change. For example, because heat releases fragrance and cold restrains it, the outside temperature dictates what scents are most pleasing at different times of the year. That is why many vendors recommend changing personal care products along with the seasons, much the same way you change your wardrobe.

Rebecca Williams, co-founder of Earth Elements in Evergreen, Alabama, claims that having the right seasonal scents in your store will "ignite all kinds of sensitivities in the brain, and key your customers toward everything you've got." One of her company's fragrances, a spring scent named "Pond," is sold only at the winter trade shows. When clients at the summer shows ask about it, she tells them, "The Pond's frozen over. It won't be available until January."

Using the principles of aromatherapy and aromachology (the psychology of scent), you can keep your merchandise mix fresh and let those wafting aromas prime customers to spend. But some groundwork is essential.

The weather in your region will have a large effect on what products your customers will be interested in. According to Alison Orme, director of category development at Crabtree & Evelyn in Woodstock, Connecticut, people in the Midwest use more creams than do people in any other region. The Northeast is a close second. But in areas such as southern California, Texas, and Florida, lighter lotions and talcs are more popular. Also, consumers in land-locked areas may not respond to oceanic or exotic scents as favorably as their coastal counterparts do.

Orme suggests looking at the television commercials of national personal care brands to get an idea of what is selling in your region. Those manufacturers target ads based on regions. For example: "The Lubriderm 'gator ad starts at the same time every year," she notes. "It continues through mid-February."

Wendi Jo Nadler is the sales manager for Body Time, a personal care company with several California stores, as well as a mail order and a wholesale division. Each of her company's stores creates a promotional calendar for the year that is divided into seasonal segments.

"We talk about very specific products for each season," she says. "We project which products we think are going to be the most important."

Nadler then makes sure that both the window displays and the open-sell tables reflect the seasonal choices. Also, the product-of-the-month display (which features discounted product and is located near the cash wrap) provides an opportunity for salespeople to speak with customers about the product.

One method Nadler recommends to determine product choices is to listen to what your customers are looking for. "If people ask for lighter product, gear more of your lighter products to that season," she says.

Once you know what you want to sell, and when, make sure that you buy enough product to make a statement. That's one area where Don Williams, co-owner of European Soaps, feels that many retailers are weak. His Seattle-based company distributes and produces many lines of personal care products, and operates three retail stores. Williams often encounters buyers whose buying strategies are unfocused. They buy on impulse, rather than from a plan, and as a result they end up not buying deep enough to make a strong statement.

Williams also recommends doing in-store promotions such as displaying a "scent of the month" or a "manager's choice of the week." Signage is also important. Signs don't need to announce a discount or a sale, he advises. But they do need to explain why you like a product, and what its features are. (A good example of in-store signage used by New York retailer, Soap in the City, is on page 172.)

One way to differentiate seasonal offerings is to use respective colors in your displays and packaging. For example, paprika and mustard shades work well in the fall, and can then give way to icier shades in winter.

Also, be sure to merchandise the holiday season distinctively. Instead of single products, offer gift sets. And offer a wider range of components from any single line.

The following will serve as a "weather map" to help you navigate the seasons.

• Use color and scent to showcase the feel of the season "the earlier, the better," says Alison Orme of Crabtree & Evelyn. "I still want a sense of comfort in January and February, but stores that create a freshness, a newness, are the kinds of stores that draw me in."
• Emphasize masks and stronger exfoliants such as salt scrubs for serious spring skin cleaning.

• Invigorating citrus fruit scents perform well in this season, according to European Soap's Don Wilson.
• Fragrances should be lighter than in the other seasons.
• Switch from creams to lotions.
• Products with aloe vera, lavender, and calendula help soothe the skin after exposure to the summer sun.
• Shower gels will appeal to customers taking fewer baths.

• "Fall brings headier fragrances. There's a lot of green, pine, balsam, and other evergreen fragrances," says Rebecca Williams of Earth Elements. "Fruit notes like pomegranate and apple also come into the fall blends, as well as orange, clove, and woodier notes."
• Consider products such as hydrating masks and moisturizers as skin becomes more dehydrated with the fluctuations in temperature.
• It's also the time of the year to emphasize candles, as people begin to spend more time inside.

• It's the season of dry skin, colds, and flu. Don Williams of European Soaps carries formulations featuring respiratory aids like eucalyptus or thyme, often complemented by lavender and rosemary.
• Concentrate on products geared to "fighting the blues": St. John's Wort, bergamot, and citruses blended with spicier scents (such as orange-ginger).
• Moisturizers, heavier creams, and exfoliation aids will be in high demand.