At Christmas time, the French acclaim gift-sets, but not at any price and provided they are seduced. These are the results of the qualitative study conducted online by Panel On The Web, a subsidiary of Promise Inc., a consulting and market research firm, specializing in the analysis of consumer behaviour.
In the cosmetics business, these gift sets appears to be a Christmas hit, with 2 to 3 million items sold every year.
The study was conducted between October 24 and November 1, 2011, on a representative sample of 500 individuals (male and female) 15 years old and more. Six beauty gift boxes, available this year in France, whose prices range between 45 and 115 euros were screened through three questions to assess their attractiveness: "3 customized fragrances" (50 euros), Beauté Divine (69 euros), Elaÿs (109 euros), Love the carrots, by Honoré des Prés (76 euros), box Bento Box, by Nars (115 euros) and Contes de fée parfumés, by Cire Trudon (45 euros).
The price criterion
Is it because of the economic crisis context or just a choice of reason? The fact is that the cheaper boxes monopolize the top three places. But the distribution is not mechanical as the Beauté Divine gift set, the most expensive among the top three, ranks first:
– First: the Beauté Divine gift-set (69 euros)
– 2nd: the "3 custom fragrances" gift-set (50 euros)
– 3rd: "Les contes de fée parfumés, Cire Trudon" (45 euros)
The point to be noted about the Beauté Divine gift-set is that it is the only box offering a so-called "experiential" present. Actually, it consists in offering a skin-care session in a beauty salon - a well-being moment - rather than make-up or perfume.
Being seduced before making a present
The French also need to appreciate what they offer to their relatives. The results of the study show that, whatever the gift-set, percentages are almost identical for the two questions on the concepts of "act of purchase" and "desire to receive."
For example, in the case of the gift box "3 custom fragrances": 30% of respondents would like to receive it as a present, and 29% plan to buy it in order to offer it to a relative. "The symmetry between the desire to purchase and the desire to receive can be applied to all the gift-sets presented in this study," said the authors.
However, it must be noted that almost all the gift-sets achieved higher preference rates among women, with the exception of the Elaÿs gift set, the only one that more men (34%) than women (21%) want to offer. Indeed this package features a bottle of champagne with two creams, allowing the present to be shared. This gift thus express its full potential during the holiday season. "Elaÿs seems to have met the challenge of convincing male customers," concluded the authors of the study.
