scent marketing

In general scents can also help create a perception of quality. Customers tend to perceive a scented product or space as being of better quality and will be willing to pay more when shopping in a scented store.

On the other hand, scenting a space can also go horribly wrong. Using scent is much more tricky and complex than using music or visuals. A Wal-Mart in north Spokane had to be evacuated and one person even ended up in the hospital when an “unidentified odour” wafted out of the bathrooms and gave many shoppers headaches and dry mouth. Smells have the potential of creating unanticipated allergies in certain people, and in lesser degrees can cause people to simply leave a space, something unlikely to happen with, say, a bad song.

The kind of smell you use plays a huge role in the success of your campaign. Studies show that people are more likely to respond to what they expect. The smells of holiday spices or chocolate chip cookies work better than ordinary, generic smells during Christmas, for example. In another study he discovered that people are likely to spend 20% more in stores scented with simpler scents that they could instantly process rather than more complex smells.