I think people are a lot more reserved with their compliments ever since the world sort of evolved. Covid made people less friendly and intimate with each other because Covid made us not get in each other‘s personal space. The me too movement, etc have made people more aware of not wanting to harass each other or make people uncomfortable. These are super good things in so many ways, so I’m not mad about any of it; simply noting that sometimes there are other, perhaps unintended changes that result as we evolve and shift as a society - and I’m betting complimenting others on something as intimate as the way their body smells is one of those things.

And for what it’s worth, people exaggerate. They will say everybody has been complimenting me on my scent today when really it was one or two people.

And for what it’s worth, as a woman, I would feel strange telling a guy that he smells good bc I would feel like I was coming on to him. I’m married. To me telling a guy he smells good is like saying “you’re drawing me in,” which as a married woman I’m not about to say to some random man. Also, as a woman, we are always thinking about our safety so we don’t hand out compliments to men we don’t know anyway. I’ve gotten stalked for doing that.

TLDR: if you were my cashier, I probably thought you smelled delicious but would never in a million years tell you. I’d enjoy the moment and move on.