Retail merchants often put a lot of thought into the visuals of their store. Items must be displayed in a way that’s appealing. The store’s color scheme must be carefully selected. Many even take employee dress codes into account.
But there’s another sense that can be incredibly important to the retail experience. Scent can add ambiance to a store environment. And studies have shown that, in certain circumstances, it can even get customers to stay longer and buy more.
So, if you want more sales, your store needs a scent.
Jennifer Dublino, vice president of development at ScentWorld Events, a trade group for the scent marketing industry, told Quartz:
“Smell is one of the most unique of human senses. Scent enters the limbic system [of the brain] and bypasses all of the cognitive and logical thought processes and goes directly to the emotional and memory areas of the brain. There’s an instant effect on the customer.”
In a study published earlier this year in the International Journal of Marketing Studies, customers confirmed the hypothesis that scent can impact behavior. Researchers stated that customers “felt greater pleasure and stimulation, expressed intention to revisit the store and spent more in a scented environment than in an unscented one.”
This doesn’t mean that you have to go out and buy overwhelmingly strong air fresheners to cover every square foot of your store. There are companies that actually specialize in helping stores use scents to increase sales.
Companies like ScentAir help stores create fragrances that best fit with their image and objectives. To do this, they try to learn as much as they can about each store – including their clientele, store material and sales interactions.
The objective is to create a scent that is completely unique to each store. But also to not overwhelm visitors. After all, you’re not trying to attack the senses of each person who walks through the door. But instead, just create a welcoming environment that makes shoppers feel comfortable, happy, and ready to shop.
Flower Shop Photo via Shutterstock
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Evangelina Gius 