How many times have you entered a room, smelt something and instantly remembered that childhood memory you forgot you have?
When it happens, we don’t even think too much about it, but smell is actually one of the most powerful senses we have. Did you know that smell is strongly connected to our memories? Or that 75% of all the emotions we experience on a daily basis are caused by what we smell?
Smell can make you recollect moments that you didn’t even remember you experienced. In fact, memories triggered by scent are found to be more emotional than those caused by other stimuli.
Scents also have a powerful influence on consumer behaviour and decision making. When a customer enters a store, it is enough for an ambient scent to be perceived as pleasant to enhance positive reactions in the customer. Scent can affect the evaluations of the retail environment, its products and quality.
Scent impacts the overall evaluations of the shopping experience and, consequently, the overall happiness of the customer. The experience of the state of flow, a unique psychological state where a person is so engrossed in an experience that they lose track of time, has been linked with many beneficial consumer behaviours like longer dwell time, higher engagement, higher willingness to purchase, higher shopping satisfaction and more positive word-of-mouth. The well-suited ambient scent has been shown to increase the likelihood of experiencing the state of flow.
It comes without saying that a more positive perception of the environment impacts consumer spending and attachment towards a brand. A pleasant ambient scent has been associated with a stronger intent to visit the store, prolonged examination of products and also encourages a willingness to pay a higher price. In fact, scientific studies have continuously proven that a well-chosen ambient scent for retail spaces increases sales, dwell time, shopping satisfaction and more by an average of 20%.
So, now you’re probably asking yourself: Which scent should I use?
Well, that is entirely dependant on your brand personality and values, your customer profiles and the overall design of your retail environment. The key here is to focus on ambient scent, meaning subtle, barely perceptible, so that it can have stronger impact on human subconsciousness. Think also about the consistency of meanings behind the chosen scent with every other aspect of the design and your overall brand strategy (we discussed it in more detail in ‘Senses are a way to the customer’s heart’ article).
Author: Alice Michelletti