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Recently, there has been much discussion about niche perfumes and younger men. Despite women making up 62.85% of all perfume buyers, it seems younger men are the main drivers behind the niche boom.

How might this be?

One theory suggests that because women generally spend more on skincare than men, men should have more disposable income for perfumes. However, this explanation feels insufficient as luxury often transcends simple economic reasoning.

To dig deeper, let's consider how evolution and the challenges of survival and reproduction have influenced the behaviors of men and women.

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Historically, women haven't struggled to find partners, but securing the right partner capable and willing of providing for them and their children has been a challenge. Women are selective, and studies show women use luxury not to attract a partner, but to keep one. Luxury acts as a way of signaling to other women a partner's commitment and to other men an economic standard.

There are two main types of luxury consumption, and please note that it's never just one or the other, but a mix:

1️⃣ Wealth-based: Shows status and wealth.
2️⃣ Competency-based: Shows knowledge, values, and sophistication.

In theory, wealth-based consumption should generally be more effective for women in attracting and keeping partners, while competency-based consumption would have less impact.

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Men, on the other hand, historically needed to prove themselves as suitable partners, so they tend to be less picky, more competitive, and willing to take risks. Studies show single men use luxury to attract partners by showing off their status and wealth. But because women have a more nuanced selection process, men can also show intelligence, sophistication, and generosity to signal their ability to acquire and share resources. Developing luxury competencies, such as knowledge of niche fragrances, comparatively more accessible than luxury cars and watches, would especially help young men display such traits.

👀 I've observed that women seem more attracted to niche fragrance brands that resemble luxury brands in terms of their size, prestige, signaling value, and/or have highly aesthetic designs. Conversely, men generally show more interest in the lesser known/novel brands compared to women.

There are nuances! This may only be true in broad strokes.

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I hypothesize that a niche fragrance brand holds the greatest appeal for men in its early stages and women in its later phases. Similarly, I believe this trend contributes to why niche as a category has initially resonated more with younger men and why, at a macro level, as once small niche brands are continually growing in size, women are to represent a larger share of this growth.

Lastly, while I recognize the value in challenging traditional assumptions and exploring factors such as cultural shifts and socio-economic conditions, covering all these aspects would be too complex for a brief text.
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