Fragrance sales were up 45% in the first quarter of 2021 versus the year prior, according to data from market research firm NPD Group. Of course, the first quarter of last year included the onset of the pandemic, when fear and uncertainty may have started to affect consumer behavior, so it's worth comparing it to the same period in 2019 — when fragrance sales were down 27% from where they are now.

— Read more in Fragrances became an affordable luxury during the pandemic, leading to the biggest boom in sales in years: 'I have never, ever seen anything like this' at Business Insider.

Fragrance sales started picking up last holiday, even though fragrance sales were down overall 8% for 2020, according to NPD Group, with brands like Estée Lauder reporting strong sales for high-end fragrances like Jo Malone and Le Labo.

— Read more in Fragrance Sales Pick Up As Consumers Reengage With The Outside World at Forbes.

...women’s fragrance sales fell 3.7% to $619.8 million in US supermarkets, drugstores, mass market retailers, military commissaries and select club and dollar retail chains for the 52 weeks ended Jan. 24. 2021.

[...] For the 52 weeks ended July 12, 2020, candle sales rose 16.9% to $1.59 billion at US multi-outlets (grocery, drug, mass market, military and select club and dollar retailers) and home air freshener sales jumped 9.6% to $2.31 billion, according to data from Information Resources, Inc. 

[...] US prestige beauty sales fell as well; the sector generated sales of $16.1 billion in 2020, a 19% decline compared to the year prior, according to The NPD Group. The fragrance category dipped 8%, according to the report. But, there is good news! Fragrance, while down for the year, declined at the slowest rate in the prestige beauty category, as it was helped along by a second half rebound in fragrance sales...

—Read more in Will Mother's Day Lift Fragrance Sales? at Happi.

Never mind that it took a global pandemic to make it happen. The fragrance industry is finally responding to the shift to online shopping.

Store closures and their sluggish reopening contributed to a 21 per cent decline in overall US fragrance sales in the year to date, according to NPD. But the category’s share of online sales has doubled this year, jumping from 19 per cent in 2019 to 33 per cent year-to-date.

— Read more in Fragrance: The shift to digital at Vogue Business.