Different scents for different consumers

mark · Joined: 16 Jan 2006 Posts: 188

Researches say smells can affect a shopper's behavior. For this reason they have made significant strides in analyzing how consumers respond to scents. Melon draws nearly universal feeling of friendliness, youthfulness and happiness; Americans think vanilla brings out feeling of comfort, while French consider it elegant and feminine. Consequently, stores are trying to put consumers in a spending mood and for this reason spend more and more money to determine what scent is most appropriate for their consumer type.
For example, 'Select comfort', a nationwide U.S. chain of bedding stores decided for following scent: mix of cashmere wood, amber, cardamom, cinnamon and bergamot. The scent supposedly conveys quiet response. Casinos and hotels use scents that evoke serenity and tranquility, like blend of green tea, geranium, green ivy, black cedar and freesia. Sonny on the other hand settled with the blend of orange and vanilla with a hint of cedarwood added to the mix.
When we talk about scents and what most people like, we are talking about average effects: not everyone like certain scent- some people might think it is delightful, but somebody else might get a headache because of it.
Nevertheless, retailers claim they are not trying to manipulate people: scent they use is subtle and it is there to make people feel more comfortable in their store or casino... and consequently of course to make a purchase. For example, upscale ice cream chain Emack & Bolio's recently adopted a waffle-cone smell to attract consumers and their sales shot up for more than a third! Consumers typically stop noticing a scent after minute or two, thus scents should be truly subtle and not aggressive.
Signature smells, like the one that was designed especially for Sonny or similar large companies cost between $5.000 and up to $25.000, while smaller retailers buy simple scents, like sage, rosemary and similar. But how do companies decide which scent to choose? Choosing the right scent is a truly complex procedure: they play on the emotion-triggering card.
Thus, the next time you go shopping, pay attention to scents! Make sure they don't trick you! Even if you like the scent, make sure the emotion trigger doesn't force you into buying things you actually do not like.
And now, go smell and shop!