What does your sales smell like? Odd question, yet completely relevant! There's all kinds of research and studies released that prove scents can help your sales or hurt them. Let's get some info on it first.
Many scientist have known for decades that certain scents— such as pine and evergreen at Christmas, baked cookies in an open house, or clean laundry smells in linen stores —can get customers in the buying spirit. Eric Spangenberg, a pioneer in the field and dean of the Washington State University College of Business, has been homing in on exactly what makes the best odor for your sales. But Spangenberg and his colleagues at WSU recently found that a simple scent works best. While writing in the Journal of Retailing, the researchers describe exposing hundreds of shoppers to simple and complex scents. Cash register receipts and in-store interviews revealed a significant boost in sales when the uncomplicated scent was being smelled. The researchers had noticed that one group of about 100 people on average spent 20% more money by buying more items if they had shopped in the presence of the simple scent. The researchers say the scent is more easily processed, therefore freeing the customer’s to focus on their shopping. But they also found when that simple bandwidth” is unavailable customers don'’t perform tasks as effectively.
Choosing the right scent for your business can:
- Boosts Sales, through prolonged stay, product or service perception, “tweaked” customer experience.
- Impress your customers and create a great and complete first impression upon entry.
- Strongly and memorably differentiate you from your competitors, enhance your brand awareness and loyalty.
- Increase staff productivity and well-being
- Achieves high impact product promotion at the Point of Purchase (PoP)
First you need to align your scent decisions to your general retail strategy and marketing strategies. As it has such a strong effect, retailers need to ensure that the scent chosen for every space will have a positive effect, build added value on the brand perception and communicate the same feelings as all other areas of your store/business do. I highly advise that you either use a consultant for this or/and perform a related market research specifically for your business.
Many scent companies provide a wide variety of standard "off-the-shelf" scents. Sometimes there are too many to choose from or you aren't sure which would be your best bet. But don't worry, there are case studies to make a short list for you depending on your concept and target groups. However there are two other things you should note as important. A scent intended for branding purposes, not just for sales boosting, should be unique and memorable. So don't go for cinnamon, vanilla, or lavender to make a brand statement, no matter how easy that could be. If you opt for a riskier more distinguishable scent, your statement will be more much stronger and memorable. Customized scents can also be produced for around $1.500, an amount not extreme depending on your size of operations. There are other options for smaller businesses. Be sure to check out list of providers below.
Now, one of the lesser known characteristics of scent is that its soon diminished. That means if you stay in an area scented the same way all around, it will soon seize to have the same strong effect. This is easily solved with a new tend to use different scents for different areas. This has its own advantages, by keeping the sensorial triggering mechanisms alive but also lets you customize the effect one has in different areas of the same store.
The options are endless and the results are positive. All that's required is a clear strategy, a budget, and some help along the way.
Top 10 Scents according to Scent Marketing Institute/SCENTtrends
- Feel safe, secure and nostalgic: Talcum powder.
- Be more alert: Peppermint, citrus
- Relax: Lavender, vanilla, chamomile
- Perceive a room as smaller: Barbecue smoke
- Perceive a room as bigger: Apple, cucumber
- Buy expensive furniture: Leather, cedar
- Buy a home: Fresh baked goods
- Browse longer and spend more: Tailored floral/citrus scents
- Develop road rage: Unpleasant smells (rotting rubbish, air pollution)
- Become sexually aroused: For men: pumpkin pie/lavender For women: the sweat of nursing mothers
Some of our favorite olfactive products & services:
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