Winning Visibility in Retail Search in Fragrances

Why retail search visibility has become the real battleground

In beauty and fragrance e-commerce, search is no longer just a navigation tool. It is the first and most decisive step of the customer journey. Before shoppers reach a product page, a promotion or a bundle, they encounter the search shelf — and that shelf is now governed by two parallel engines.
On one side, Organic Search, driven by relevance, assortment depth, availability and long-term brand strength. On the other, Sponsored Search, powered by Retail Media investments that accelerate, defend or artificially expand visibility.
Peak season amplifies the interaction between these two systems. The brands that win are not simply those that spend more, but those that coordinate Organic authority with Sponsored timing, adapting to how consumer intent evolves week by week.

Dataset perimeter and analytical framework

This analysis covers the period from November 23, 2025 to January 23, 2026, using SEARCH and SPA data provided by BRANDIVING tools. It includes Organic and Sponsored search results across leading European beauty e-commerce platforms such as Douglas, Boots and Flaconi, as well as other relevant retailers present in the dataset.
Visibility is measured through Share of Voice (SoV), defined as the share of total search appearances, with a specific focus on the Top 20 brands by overall visibility.
The season is divided into three behaviorally meaningful windows:

Pre-Christmas / Black Friday: November 23 – December 6
Christmas: December 7 – December 26
Post-Christmas / Sales: December 27 – January 23

Share of Voice: Organic and Sponsored reward different strengths

The first key insight is structural: Organic and Sponsored Search do not reward the same brands in the same way.

Organic Share of Voice is highly concentrated.
Dior dominates the organic search followed by a small group of premium brands — including Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent and Armani — accounts for a disproportionate share of Organic visibility. This reflects not only market share, but also the breadth of their product portfolios. Brands with many indexed SKUs benefit from broader coverage across multiple queries, increasing their probability of appearing consistently in top positions.

In Organic Search, leadership is stable. Top brands dominate the first results, while mid-sized brands may enter the SERP but rarely secure top-five positions. Organic visibility therefore reflects brand equity combined with assortment depth, creating high barriers to entry in the most competitive searches.

Sponsored Search follows a very different logic.
Sponsored Share of Voice is less concentrated and significantly more “democratic”. Brands that are not Organic leaders — including fashion-fragrance players or newer entrants — can scale visibility rapidly through tactical investment. Retail Media partially neutralizes Organic advantage, allowing brands to buy presence even on highly competitive queries. D&G is the most aggressive brands in SPA while Dior and Chanel strong in Organic are less aggressive

As a result, the Top 20 brands in Organic Search do not perfectly overlap with the Top 20 in Sponsored Search. Some brands are structurally strong but under-defended in paid results, while others aggressively compensate weaker Organic presence through Sponsored activity. These imbalances shape visibility throughout the funnel.

Who really dominates search visibility

Looking at Organic Search alone, the Top 5 brands account for just over 50% of total Organic visibility, with Dior leading at approximately 16%, followed by Yves Saint Laurent, Chanel and Armani. Organic leadership clearly rewards brands with extensive, relevant assortments.
Sponsored Search tells a different story. Dolce & Gabbana emerges as the most visible brand in paid results, exceeding 11% Sponsored SoV, followed by Chanel, Dior, Lancome and Boss. The presence of Dolce & Gabbana, Lancome and Hugo Boss at the top highlights the media-driven nature of Sponsored visibility: these brands are significantly more present in paid placements than their Organic strength alone would suggest.
Overall, Sponsored Search is slightly more concentrated than Organic when looking at the Top 20, but the biggest difference lies in the mid-tail (brands ranked 6–20). This is where Retail Media reshuffles the competitive order.

Buying visibility vs earning it

Comparing Sponsored and Organic SoV reveals clear over- and under-investment patterns.

Brands such as Dolce & Gabbana, Burberry, Marc Jacobs, Calvin Klein, Mugler and Hugo Boss show Sponsored-to-Organic ratios above 2x — in some cases exceeding 4x. These brands are explicitly using Retail Media to scale visibility quickly and to occupy search slots that would otherwise belong to stronger Organic players.
On the opposite side, brands like Dior, Chanel, Ysl, Armani show strong Organic visibility but relatively limited Sponsored presence. In these cases, the opportunity lies either in defensive bidding on core searches or in deliberately accepting Organic dominance if paid visibility does not deliver incremental value.

How visibility evolves across the season

Visibility dynamics change dramatically across the three consumption windows.
During Pre-Christmas and Black Friday, Sponsored Search plays a central role in building purchase intention. Brands such as Dolce & Gabbana, Lancôme, Dior and Hugo Boss dominate paid visibility, leveraging recognizability and gifting appeal. Black Friday acts as a visibility shock: speed and investment temporarily matter more than Organic authority.
The Christmas period marks a shift from intention building to urgency. Sponsored Search reaches maximum concentration. Brands like Lancôme and Dior peak, while Dolce & Gabbana remains highly visible but stabilizes. Chanel begins a steady ascent. In this phase, success depends on best sellers, stable supply and “safe” gifting keywords. Sponsored Search becomes defensive rather than expansionary.
A structural break occurs post-Christmas. Visibility patterns invert. Gifting-driven leaders such as Lancôme, Dior and Dolce & Gabbana decline sharply, while brands like Chanel, Hugo Boss, Gucci and Burberry grow. Consumer mindset shifts from “gift for others” to “gift for myself”. Sponsored Search changes function, moving from gifting to conquesting and self-purchase.

During Sales and New Year, Chanel becomes the most visible Sponsored brand, while Hugo Boss and Yves Saint Laurent recover. Brands with broad portfolios and the ability to leverage discounts perform best. Sponsored Search in this phase is driven by efficiency and opportunism.

What this means for the Top 20 brands

The evidence leads to a clear conclusion: Organic Search defines who deserves to win, Sponsored Search defines when visibility is amplified.
Organic leaders must defend earlier than in the past, as Black Friday compresses Organic advantage sooner. Retail Media aggressors must manage intensity carefully to avoid inefficiencies once gifting momentum fades. Post-Christmas emerges as the most underutilized opportunity for efficient Share of Voice gains, particularly for brands with solid Organic foundations.

Final takeaway

Black Friday has not replaced Christmas as the main peak — it has created a new first peak.
Brands that outperform are those that:

secure Organic legitimacy early,
use Sponsored tactically during Black Friday,
defend rather than overspend during Christmas,
and rebalance visibility efficiently in the Post-Christmas and Sales period.

Organic Search decides who can win.
Sponsored Search decides when they are seen.
Peak season success is no longer about spending more, but about orchestrating visibility over time.

BRANDIVING
NEWS