Recently, Testpoint carried out an interesting market research in Milan to determine which fragrance was the most popular for a moisturizing body cream. It was a high-end cream, the kind sold exclusively in perfumeries. The cream was available in three versions with three different scents. 40 women were invited to try them and express their preference.
A home usage test
What’s the first thing you do when you choose a face or body cream? Certainly, after listening to the advice of the skin-care expert who is offering it to you, go and smell the fragrance of the product. This is definitely the first step. Only as a second step, go and check the effectiveness of the cream.
And it is exactly following this logic that Testpoint carried out a test on a body cream in Milan to evaluate which of the three different fragrances offered was most appreciated by consumers. Let’s see how it was carried out.
The first step was to recruit 40 women, regular consumers/users of high-end body creams, sold exclusively in perfumeries. The ladies had to be between 30 and 50 years old and use a body moisturizing product daily, but not those on sale in supermarkets or pharmacies.
Three samples of cream were then delivered to the participants’ homes: it was, in fact, the same cream with three different fragrances. The samples were de-branded, in white packages identified only by a code.
The instructions attached to the samples told the ladies the order in which the creams should be used. It worked like this: the first cream had to be used for three consecutive days, then there was a break day during which the participant could use her usual product (sometimes the fragrances can be persistent, which is why it is advisable to provide a break day between one product and another); then everything was repeated in the same way for the second and third cream.
After each three-day test, the participant had to complete a short online questionnaire: by connecting to a link, from mobile phone or tablet or computer, with the credentials received, respondents had to answer a few simple questions about the product and in particular its fragrance. In the end, of course, it was necessary to indicate an order of preference among the products.
