Retail Media's Fragrance Story, with a Hint of the Holidays to Come

Year after Year, Fragrance Advertising Followed a Reliable Seasonal Rhythm

Over the past 3 years, fragrance advertising followed a familiar pattern, with retail media impressions peaking sharply during the winter gift-giving season. Last year, more than half of all category impressions occurred during Q4. Not only have seasonal peaks remained consistent, but monthly levels have also held remarkably steady year over year.

Outside of key shopping periods, the category is largely fueled by new product launches. This past September was no exception, when impressions surged +81% YoY, driven by launch campaigns from Prada, Dior, and Miu Miu.

Macy’s Delivered on its Promise as “The Fragrance Destination”

In 2025 YTD, Macy’s delivered over a billion impressions for fragrance brands, more than any other retail media network (RMN). Advertisers at Macy’s leaned into Facebook and OTT, where creatives often highlighted Macy’s positioning as “The Fragrance Destination.” Beauty retailers, Ulta & Sephora, rounded out the top 3 RMNs.

In a surprise September debut, Uber Eats entered the category with their first fragrance campaign on record, promoting the launch of Sephora on their platform. Ads for the new partnership featured Glossier’s You and Kayali’s Yum Boujee Marshmallow.

Calvin Klein Led the Category with a Mass-Market Focus

Calvin Klein Fragrances led all brands in 2025 YTD, generating 188M retail media impressions. While most top advertisers focused on prestige retailers, Calvin Klein took a different approach, prioritizing mass-market retailers Walmart and Amazon. At Walmart, their messaging was led by Father’s Day gifting, while Amazon display ads emphasized product discovery.

At the parent company level, L'Oréal had the largest presence among leading fragrance advertisers, representing 3 of the top 8 brands: Prada, Valentino, and YSL Libre.

In a Breakout Month, Prada Launched Two Major Fragrances

In September, Prada’s impressions quadrupled MoM (+348%) to 103M, the highest monthly total of any fragrance brand this year. The increase was driven by two new launches: Paradigme and Paradoxe. Prada enlisted Emma Watson and Tom Holland to front the campaigns, with consistent visuals and messaging that featured themes of self reflection and identity. The launch was amplified across three different RMNs in September, led by Macy’s.

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