Jo Malone offers virtual fragrance customisation through Tmall store

The British perfumer, which is known for its concept of combining scents to create personalised fragrances, now brings that brick-and-mortar experience online for Tmall shoppers, allowing them to create 300 possible fragrances from a combination of 26 perfumes.

Virtual bespoke service

With the fragrance-finding tool, consumers are able to blend their own signature scents based on personal tastes and even their mood.

Consumers can identify with traits such as independent and preferences such as “fondness for the ocean”​ to receive their personalised blend.

If not, they can allow the programme to choose their custom fragrance based on their previous shopping selections on Tmall.

This virtual experience was developed by hundreds of engineers and perfume experts from both companies, said Tmall.

“Tmall is a very special platform, and they share our pioneering and entrepreneurial spirit​,” said Leonardo O’Grady, Vice President of consumer marketing of Jo Malone London. “Unlike any other platform, they promise and offer us an opportunity to connect with China in a way that probably no other online platform can.”​

Once their customisation is complete, consumers will then be directed to the product pages where they can read reviews from other shoppers and purchase a fragrance if they wish to.

Personalised gifting

Another stand out feature available on the e-commerce platform is the bespoke gifting service, which was launched on August 17, Chinese Valentine’s Day.

Whether for a special someone or for themselves, consumers can engrave messages onto their Jo Malone perfume bottles and carve initials onto the lids.

The service also allows shoppers to hand-pick gift boxes, greeting cards and ribbons for that extra special touch. According to the brand, 60% of consumers have opted for this bespoke gift-packaging service.

Rising trend of scents

According to Alibaba, a report by their data-intelligence firm CBNData found that perfume sales across their e-commerce platforms grew 53.7% during the last fiscal quarter.

This was consistent with the findings by Euromonitor, which reported that perfume sales in China reached RMB6.16bn ($898m) in 2017 and that the number is expected to surpass RMB 8.69bn ($1.27bn) in 2022.

Jo Malone parent company, the Estee Lauder Companies said it recognised the trend among millennials who customise products as a way of expressing their individual identities.