Sephora Has Changed the Way Customers Can Purchase Perfume

After years of allowing customers the option to “try before you buy,” Sephora has changed the way consumers can purchase perfume. This switch came after store thefts rose in that particular department.

CNN reported that Sephora has removed all perfume from its store shelves and displays and replaced them with fragrance tester bottles. These bottles are original perfumes frequently sold in outer cartons without labels or cellophane. Therefore, they are less desirable to steal.

Previously, the retailer kept sealed boxes of perfume behind the testers. When a customer found a fragrance they liked, they could pick up the item and bring it to the register for checkout.

Now, if shoppers want to purchase a specific fragrance, they have to ask a member of Sephora’s staff to get it for them, reports The Daily Mail. This extra step will add time to the overall Sephora shopping experience.

In a statement to CNN, Sephora said, “The safety and security of our employees and customers is our top priority. To minimize the threats of retail theft and to provide our shoppers with the peace of mind during their experience at Sephora, we’ve increased the presence of Sephora loss prevention investigators across all stores. With that, out of an abundance of caution, Sephora only displays fragrance testers in-stores.”

Fragrances, particularly in their original packaging, are targeted due to their high resell value. These items often turn up in large quantities in secondary marketplaces such as eBay, OfferUp, and Facebook Marketplace, according to law enforcement.

This new business model steers clear away from Sephora’s legendary try-out method of marketing. Shoppers spent time in the store, which in turn led to increased sales as they tried out different items, such as makeup, hair products, creams, and perfumes, before purchasing.

Manola Soler, senior director with Alvarez & Marsal’s Consumer and Retail Group, told CNN that previously, only sales associates could access these types of products in department stores. “Sephora freed the products and put them straight into consumers’ hands so they could touch, swatch, and experience the products at their leisure,” she explained.

After trying out the new store policy of locking up fragrances in some stores earlier in 2023, the retailer implemented the policy across all of its stores in the United States.