Successful Retail Companies That Sell With Their Scents

The human brain is keen on the sense of scent. Studies in psychology state adults have the capability to make a distinction between 10, 000 fragrances while the body produces scent neurons within weeks. The sense of smell goes right away to different parts of the brain. It does not wait for central processing.

Science is one reason retail business proprietors put time and resources in scent marketing. Human psychology underscores the value of smell and associates it with recollections to replicate positive experiences. Retailers create a good recipe that creates an encouraging brand experience by connecting biological development with senses that include perspective. Some big players in the retail industry like Nike Incorporated discovered that scent marketing encourages intention to purchase by 80 percent. On the other hand, the adorable smell of freshly-brewed coffee augmented sales in a coffee shop by 300 percent.

Smells evoke a feeling of informality among customers and enhanced their impression of quality. As a science, it is supported by examples of retail organizations multiplying conversion rates and consumers going to the sales funnel.

• Starbucks – The aroma of fresh coffee pervades each Starbucks outlet. It sells food but patrons do not smell this.
• Lowe’s Home Improvement and Appliances – Lowe’s chain of stores have spectacular and brilliant illumination. The smell of freshly-cut timber is always present even as there is no wood cut in the establishment.
• Cineplex – There is the whiff of fresh popcorn all around the building but customers do not smell other goodies like nachos and pizza.
• Cinnabon – At Cinnabon, customers never fail to notice the smell of delicious cinnamon buns.
• Muji Japanese Retail Company – Muji sells different household and consumer items. It takes a unique approach to scent marketing. It does not conceal fragrance diffusers in its establishments and sells them with a variety of important oil scents.
• Singapore Airlines – This airline was among the pioneers in developing a custom fragrance sprayed into hot towels for passengers. The soothing scent helps reduce apprehensions among its clients.
• Abercrombie & Fitch – Abercrombie & Fitch is a retail giant that sells upscale casual apparel for teens. It uses very strong and overpowering scents in their shops. This strategy is based on their target population.
• Ford Motor Company – Ford Motor Company implemented a massive rebranding campaign and created the Lincoln brand. Likewise, it formulated a signature scent to bolster its brand identity with clients.
• Ocean Bank – Ocean Bank in the Unites States (21 Branches in Florida) worked with Sensory Max, an aroma marketing firm, to develop the Ocean Blue scent for all its branches. It is currently testing the waters for scented pens and check book covers.

Small proprietors are not blessed with resources that these multinational corporations possess. Yet, it does not connote that start-ups and family-owned stores cannot take advantage of research and development these retail giants initiated and financed. There are numerous studies that show how fragrances help bring in the right demographics for a particular merchandise.

It was mentioned earlier that the brain processes smells subconsciously at the start. This implies unobtrusive or simple scents create more impact.

Choose one first and look for the appropriate position in the selling area as background component. Faint scents lessen customer resistance. The smell also raises recognition of quality and aligns it accordingly with how the brain sorts out aromas.

The scent is very biased. It swamps customers on purpose with something that may find objectionable, lead to dislike or become at risk to legal concerns such as causing health conditions among patrons.

Therefore, certain retailers use the Billboard Scent Strategy. Fragrances must remain in the background. These must be agreeable and should not sidetrack shoppers.

A number of retail establishments make use of synthetic smells. Scent Air (based in the United Kingdom) is the most experienced company that helps enterprises globally in coming out with scent marketing strategies. Scent Air developed the Piña Colada fragrance used in Hamleys, the biggest and oldest toy retailer in the whole world. It causes parents to hang around longer inside the toy shop which eventually leads to a sale. One of its most recent clients is M&M World Store (London) which has turned out as the largest sweet shop worldwide when it opened last June of 2016. There is no scent of chocolate in the whole establishment.

The right smell rests on various factors. It affects all things from customs, suitability to the merchandise and gender. It should also harmonize with the current season like summer or Christmas. For example, shoppers look forward to Christmas as smelling like cinnamon or everlasting trees.

In one big Asian country, a shoe store hired a prominent consulting company for its sense marketing effort. Consumers were introduced to a foreign brand making uses of the “sensory store experience”. A sentimental wood and leather (combined) smell was utilized to communicate the brand’s perfect craftsmanship and legacy. Shopper spent more money in this establishment compared to stores of similar size. Small shops can also implement this technique.

For retail enterprises, getting the correct scents can possibly spell the difference between the protracted stinking odor of failure and the engaging smell of profitability. The retailer needs to make a choice. Scent marketing can help them chart their course.