Shopping for fragrance is typically an emotional adventure — sniffing bottle after bottle to find something that hits the right note. But Sephora has found a way to introduce technology into the experience. The beauty specialty retailer is augmenting its well-trained staff with a device that takes the guesswork out of finding the perfect scent.

Called the Scentsa Fragrance Finder, this interactive wall-mounted screen acts as a GPS for zeroing in on fragrances. It is currently installed in 20 of Sephora’s 190 U.S. locations.

Although Sephora has well-trained associates and testers, it can still be a challenge to find the right perfume. “The idea is not to eliminate service,” says Jan Moran, founder and CEO of Crescent House Publishing and the creator of Scentsa.

“It is to help the experts while also allowing customers to play in the store.” Sephora’s unique mix of service and self-service has been a key ingredient of its success, and Scentsa helps shoppers who want to experiment on their own.

“Scentsa will revolutionize the way we traditionally think about finding a fragrance,” says Betsy Olum, Sephora’s senior vice president of marketing. “With this groundbreaking program, our clients will be able to quickly and easily locate a fragrance favorite or discover a new one.”

With more than 500 scents launched annually, the fragrance category can be mazelike to navigate, especially for someone buying a gift. Often, shoppers can’t remember a name or want something similar, but different, to what they normally wear. Scentsa can assist and even tell shoppers what a favorite celebrity wears (for the record, Meryl Streep favors Shalimar).

Touch-screen simplicity
Users can touch the screen to navigate the program. According to Moran, it is easy to use and has many different ways to search. If a customer inputs what she is currently wearing, she can learn about the “notes” in that scent and find others she might want to try.

Since the screen is located within the fragrance department, it is simple for a customer to have a sales associate walk her to the scent, or she can easily find it on her own on the fragrance wall.

The information is updated daily and there are currently more than 5,000 scents inventoried. The major searches include brand name, fragrance name, fragrance notes (citrus, for example) and bestsellers. If a fragrance is discontinued, a shopper can get recommendations for similar fragrances; if she can’t recall the name of a new scent but knows the manufacturer, she can find out all about the new launch.

For years, merchants have tried to use interactive displays in beauty departments to help sell more merchandise. Looped videos were often turned off when store employees tired of the message; other devices proved too complicated and were left to gather dust.

Industry accolades
Scentsa is unique because each shopper can use it in different ways to get different information. The underlying technology has garnered Scentsa recognition ranging from the Fragrance Foundation’s FiFi for Technological Breakthrough of the Year (an award often likened to getting an Academy Award in the scent business) to a nod from the Cisco Growing with Technology Awards judges.

“Even with the level of help at Sephora, there are people who prefer to serve themselves,” says industry expert Allan Mottus. “This is especially good for young, techie shoppers.” Equally important, Moran says, is that it is effectively maintenance-free for in-store staff and requires no down time to reboot the programs.

Down the road, Moran could see vendors participating in Scentsa through the use of special messages or coupons, and she thinks the technology could stretch beyond scents. “Wine is one logical extension,” she says.