Scent Marketing Tactics
Posted: Tue Jan 21, 2025 10:12 am
Scent marketing is the use of smells to stimulate sales, when the impact is on subconscious mechanisms. Scent marketing should be used very carefully, as smells have a strong influence, which can be positive and even negative. Let's consider the most popular scent marketing tactics.
Smell Billboards
The boldest form of aroma marketing is fragrance billboards. The name comes from the fact that a distinct scent activates the human olfactory system in the same way that a billboard activates the optical system.
People have one 99 acres database peculiarity - they remember smells a hundred times more often than what they can see, hear or touch. For example, if you pass by an Abercrombie & Fitch store in one shopping center, its smell is so strongly imprinted in your memory that when visiting another shopping center, you can guess this boutique without looking. The fact is that Abercrombie & Fitch is characterized by the presence of a distinct strong aroma that has a very enticing effect on people. An excellent example of an advertising billboard for this store is the smell of the signature cologne Fierce, which is impossible to forget after smelling it just once.
Most retailers practice using bold scents to permeate the air around the store, as it attracts random passers-by. A bakery with the smell of fresh pastries, a coffee shop with the aroma of this drink, a boutique smelling of rosemary, and so on are all examples of using bold scents to attract a large number of visitors and increase sales.
Case: VT-metall
Find out how we reduced the cost of attracting an application by 13 times for a metalworking company in Moscow
Find out how
Ambient aroma
With the increasing competitiveness of modern stores, retailers are making more and more efforts to create unique and irreplaceable impressions for people. According to statistics, a certain part of them opts for the surrounding smell, which is an invariable companion of retail or service industry.
These scents are not related to the signature scent of a company or brand. They are used to improve the impression of a store visitor. For example, the scent of lavender relaxes a person, a bouquet of floral ambience makes him linger longer in a certain place.
Rutgers University conducted two studies to determine how ambient odor affects memory for branded products. Even earlier, Nice conducted a relevant study, the results of which were shocking.
It showed that consumers were 84% more likely to buy shoes in scented environments than in non-scented environments, and were willing to pay 10-20% more for scented environments when purchasing products they needed first.
Ambient scent is considered the simplest and most accessible example of scent marketing for small businesses. It is not as noticeable as scented billboards, and it does not necessarily have to be tied to a specific company or brand. Some retailers may use only one scent throughout the entire retail space, while others may use specific ones in different departments.
Scent Marketing Tactics
Source: shutterstock.com
Common ambient odors include:
flowers that make customers want to stay in the store longer;
leather, as this scent is associated with luxury and wealth;
fresh linen, giving a feeling of freshness and cleanliness;
lavender, which has a relaxing effect;
Vanilla is used to improve mood.
It is imperative to control the surrounding odors. For this, you will need a tool such as a diffuser. Only in this case can you adjust the intensity of the odors so that they attract customers, and not scare them away.
Smell Billboards
The boldest form of aroma marketing is fragrance billboards. The name comes from the fact that a distinct scent activates the human olfactory system in the same way that a billboard activates the optical system.
People have one 99 acres database peculiarity - they remember smells a hundred times more often than what they can see, hear or touch. For example, if you pass by an Abercrombie & Fitch store in one shopping center, its smell is so strongly imprinted in your memory that when visiting another shopping center, you can guess this boutique without looking. The fact is that Abercrombie & Fitch is characterized by the presence of a distinct strong aroma that has a very enticing effect on people. An excellent example of an advertising billboard for this store is the smell of the signature cologne Fierce, which is impossible to forget after smelling it just once.
Most retailers practice using bold scents to permeate the air around the store, as it attracts random passers-by. A bakery with the smell of fresh pastries, a coffee shop with the aroma of this drink, a boutique smelling of rosemary, and so on are all examples of using bold scents to attract a large number of visitors and increase sales.
Case: VT-metall
Find out how we reduced the cost of attracting an application by 13 times for a metalworking company in Moscow
Find out how
Ambient aroma
With the increasing competitiveness of modern stores, retailers are making more and more efforts to create unique and irreplaceable impressions for people. According to statistics, a certain part of them opts for the surrounding smell, which is an invariable companion of retail or service industry.
These scents are not related to the signature scent of a company or brand. They are used to improve the impression of a store visitor. For example, the scent of lavender relaxes a person, a bouquet of floral ambience makes him linger longer in a certain place.
Rutgers University conducted two studies to determine how ambient odor affects memory for branded products. Even earlier, Nice conducted a relevant study, the results of which were shocking.
It showed that consumers were 84% more likely to buy shoes in scented environments than in non-scented environments, and were willing to pay 10-20% more for scented environments when purchasing products they needed first.
Ambient scent is considered the simplest and most accessible example of scent marketing for small businesses. It is not as noticeable as scented billboards, and it does not necessarily have to be tied to a specific company or brand. Some retailers may use only one scent throughout the entire retail space, while others may use specific ones in different departments.
Scent Marketing Tactics
Source: shutterstock.com
Common ambient odors include:
flowers that make customers want to stay in the store longer;
leather, as this scent is associated with luxury and wealth;
fresh linen, giving a feeling of freshness and cleanliness;
lavender, which has a relaxing effect;
Vanilla is used to improve mood.
It is imperative to control the surrounding odors. For this, you will need a tool such as a diffuser. Only in this case can you adjust the intensity of the odors so that they attract customers, and not scare them away.