The Perfume Shop has hailed the resilience of perfume as a gifting category after it sold a record number of bottles over the Christmas trading period.

The Perfume Shop fascia Bluewater

The Perfume Shop sold a record 1.77 million bottles in the run up to Christmas

The retailer said it sold more than 1.77 million bottles of perfume between November 28 and December 24 despite Royal Mail strikes and the cold weather snap – the best Christmas trading performance in its 30-year history.

The Perfume Shop said in-store sales were up 3% year on year and ecommerce sales were up 26% in the final week before Christmas, having already enjoyed its “most successful Black Friday to date”. 

The retailer said promotional sales were also “very popular” this Christmas, against the backdrop of the cost-of-living crisis with its busiest trading day being December 11. 

Between October and December, The Perfume Shop reported a 5% increase in sales compared with 2021, with gift set sales up 11%. The perfume retailer’s personalisation services also performed well, selling more than 481,000 ribbons and 32,000 engraved fragrances to customers – up 67% on 2021.

The Perfume Shop trading director Andrea Rickard said: “We knew that Christmas was going to be a tough one for people this year and that’s why we wanted to ensure we had lots of fantastic early Christmas deals such as gift sets, stocking fillers and more to help families spread the cost of the festive season. 

“Our price freeze on over one hundred fragrance brands enabled people to buy gifts for their loved ones on any budget. With so many fantastic new launches in the last few months, there’s also been more choice and value than ever. 

“Not only are we very lucky to have so many loyal customers who have continuously shown their support over the last 30 years, but our hard-working colleagues pulled out all the stops this year to help our customers and I would like to thank each and every one of them.”