I have become interested in the techniques used to persuade people to buy stuff. Some of these seem more ethical than others. But in particular, there are a lot of anecdotes about stores using artificial smells like chocolate, suntan oil or pine trees to increase sales - sometimes claiming effects as much as 10-40 per cent.
Obviously, places like Cinnabon and KFC have distinctive odours, and I would suggest this tactic works well for them so they use it. But people have also become hypersensitive to things like fragrances in many other environments, and in general the numbers claimed seem very high. Obviously, these effects might be subtle. Others may not want to risk the “peanut allergy” effect.
I was wondering if someone smarter had more direct knowledge about in-store scents. Also, why not make Apple stores smell like Cheetos, or gaming stores smell like brownies? Which scents might match up well?
A local video store smelled like popcorn and gave browsers a free sample of the same. It’s the only one I know still in business, so maybe they were on to something.
Also, there must be some use for those Gwynneth Paltrow candles. Maybe in the homeopathy section.
But did they smell like popcorn because they were continually making popcorn, or did they add an artificial popcorn scent?
A supermarket near me is very obviously (to me) piping in peach scent around the fruit area. I happen to know supermarket peaches have no taste or smell; the proof is another supermarket doesn’t do that and you can’t smell the peaches from the aisle.
It really smells good and could tempt you if you don’t know better.
This was natural popcorn, not exactly the same as an artificial scent. But there used to be fifty video stores in my town. I don’t even know too many video stores still open in any town.
Sounds like these guys. Still in business, always had free popcorn. But I think the real reason they’re still around is that they have genuinely knowledgeable movie buffs on staff and a great selection of old classics. It’s kind of a cross between a video store and a movie museum. The fact that the place smells of popcorn I think is purely incidental, though highly appropriate.
Same idea but different place. Of course, they also sell and rent video games. But their meat and potatoes is still video rental. Yes, they know a lot about movies. When they sold off all their videocassettes cheaply two decades ago, I acquired a lot of obscure classics.
When I was in college in the '80s, my girlfriend had a summer job, working as an assistant manager at the Mrs. Field’s Cookies store in the local mall. She told me that they built their stores to vent the air from the ovens, which smelled like hot chocolate chip cookies, out into the mall, to attract hungry patrons.
For a while, back when I lived in NYC, there was a nut store near where I worked. The aroma of roasting nuts was almost irresistible.
The only time the big box/glorified grocery store I work in is "scented: is when someone drops a jar of pickles or bottle of shampoo or something went off in the produce or meat departments.
YMMV, other stores may be different. Mostly, we just strive to be clean, especially these days. So early in the day there might be a whiff of Pine Sol or equivalent, or bleach.
To keep this thread on track, I am interested in experience or studies with using scent, artificial or natural, to affect things like purchasing or time in store. Using “natural” things like popcorn or baked goods is fine.
The Hugo Boss stores commissioned a “manly, exclusive” scent for its stores possibly using woods, tobacco, meat juices, sawdust and Jagermeister. Some scent company, probably the one claiming such implausible increases in sales, say they have thousands of customers. Casinos reportedly supercharge their air with oxygen and simulate daylight to keep people awake. It is possible anything that increases oxytocin might make people gamble more.
I know a lot of realtors will suggest baking cookies or burning candles or something like that before a showing or during an open house.
I worked briefly as a probate paralegal for a law firm that required as one of our duties to put a batch of Otis Spunkmeyer cookies into the Otis Spunkmeyer special oven before clients showed up for their appointments.
I guess it worked to keep the clients happy. We ate a lot of cookies.