Scents & Fragrances For Retail Stores During Holidays: Christmas, New Year’s Eve & More

Christmas is near and everyone can hear and smell it in the air. This is one season in the year that people want to spend and buy more. People are nostalgic and want to recall the good times. They become more big-hearted with money for their loved ones and close friends.

The holiday season is also a booming season for retailers. Clever entrepreneurs should take advantage of consumers’ reminiscence and value the relationship between splurging and nostalgia. As early as October, large as well as small retail owners decorate and light up their shops. This strategy sets the right mood for consumers.

Many store owners resort to holiday scents in drawing out that sentimental emotion. Fragrance is more restrained compared to sound. The majority of shoppers do not even recognize scents consciously but these can stir up wistful feelings effectively than other ambient factors. Smell guides a person down memory lane since it is processed by the brain’s core. Scent is capable of relieving even the oldest memories from the early days more than other senses.

The proper aroma is ideal for consumers. There is a plethora of these odors which include peppermint, evergreen trees, gingerbread, cider, apples, and pleasant spices. According to studies, said fragrances enhance people’s frame of mind and reduce unfriendliness as well as melancholy. For example, peppermint lessens annoyance and tiredness especially in congested stores during the holidays.

In the midst of the holiday rush, smart retailers need to strategize and think about methods using scents. First, combine it with other senses like sound and sight. Try to execute an Olfactory Marketing technique which requires the store owner to learn how smell can impact the behavior of customers.

Marketers or plain shop owners can diffuse scents that are pleasant inside their grocery outlet, fashion or gift boutiques. This approach complements the use of Christmas melodies favorable to shoppers and creates acoustic ambiance. Such a strategy is not expensive. Small and family-operated retail businesses with few employees can be immersed with lovely holiday scents for only $100 monthly.

• Choose the basic scents. Researchers from one university in the United States compared responses of consumers to smell using a sample of 300 respondents. These were divided into two groups. One tested a pure orange aroma. The other smelled a mix of orange and green tea. What was the result? The first group spent 25 percent more than the second. The researchers’ conclusion was the single scent did not cause any distraction to the shoppers.
• Use warm scents which consist of sweet, soft and fruity whiffs with tinges of honey. Examples are Chamomile (aromatic and perennial plant used for herbal teas) and Cinnamon (spice extracted from tree barks). Choose holiday scents from candles and oils or seasonal fragrances like pine and gingerbread in compelling buyers to spend money.
• Match fragrances with retail marketing strategies. Small-scale businesses can use a scent emblem to remain conspicuous in jam-packed marketplaces during the Christmas season. Based on research made by the Scent Marketing Institute (SMI) purple or blue suggests a feeling of relaxation. On the other hand, citrus (green and lemon) produces a feeling of attentiveness. Shoppers will more likely remember a scent compared to an advertisement in the newspaper or radio.
• Support branding with signature scents. Consumers also recall fragrances more than images. This is why store scents are frequently utilized as olfactory signage or billboards that heighten impulse purchases. Many people follow their noses subconsciously as nice scents drive buyers to a particular area of the shop. However, it is not easy and takes about three months to create signature scents.
• Select scents such as lilac or that will keep customers inside the establishment longer. However, refrain from overdoing things because the strategy may backfire and keep away prospective buyers instead of encouraging them to enter the store. Remember smells can produce both positive and negative sentiments.

The holiday season is known as the most delightful time of the year. Consumers, young and old, troop to malls, supermarkets, department stores and small boutiques to make purchases.

Consumers love Christmas music, lights, displays, and the faint fragrance of the holidays.
Nonetheless, some shoppers prefer only a single source of Christmas atmosphere and the common clamor is fragrance. Thus, it makes sense to have just one that consumers will be contented with.

At the same time, putting together the inappropriate scents or combining them with unsuitable music will not work. It is important to maintain a consistent sensory experience that can drive away customers.

Other potential benefits of formulating a retail scent strategy include the following:

• Increasing traffic in the selling area
• Promoting Christmas specials and promos
• Improving holiday feeling
• Fortifying retailer’s image with branded scents

More than these, holiday fragrances strengthen the storeowner’s connection with customers and interact with them effectively. Consumers are more laid-back and convinced in making buying decisions. According to research, enterprises are able to attain a significant increase in brand impression once the human senses are triggered.

Scent strategies have the means to provide a forward-looking mode for retail businesses to highlight brand values, improve customer experiences, and promote brand loyalty among target audiences. Calling to mind scent recollections have high potential to raise the retail brand in this new generation of multiple sensory marketing and promotions. It is no easy task that retailers especially the minor players should learn and adopt. Yet, it is a must to guarantee lasting success in this competitive industry.