Positive association between a place and a scent creates an emotional link to the location of a pleasant experience. This is the main influential factor of buying decisions in a store.
Walking in a store or a hotel should be a customer experience which is appealing to all the senses. Traditionally marketers have been focusing on visual, sight and sound neglecting one of the most important senses: smell.
Being unique and finding a point of differentiation is a key concern of any brand wanting to improve customer experiences and scent can help them achieve this. A sensory logo works like a visual logo and helps customer identifying and remembering your brand easily.
“Based on my own research in this area, I am convinced of scent’s role as a powerful means of communication with one’s customers no matter what the business.”
- Professor Spence, Experimental Psychology at Oxford University
The fact that human can recall scents for a very long time allows brands to create a strong connection with their customers through scent. With the growth and development of online business this is definitely a huge asset and advantage for businesses with stores and office to enable them to provide a better customer experience for their clients.
on how scent improves customer experience
Research by ICM found over half of consumers say they love their favorite stores due to its ambience.
-by ICMThree out of four people (74%) are impulsively drawn into a store by a smell.
-by Professor Charles Spence MA PhDIn a hospitality environment, 77% of consumers say a pleasant smell in a hotel would have a positive impact on them.
-by ICM90% of consumers would either walk out of a store or speed up their browsing if they didn’t like the smell inside it.
-by ICMAmbient scent is the most effective in influencing consumer behavior in terms of emotion, evaluation, desire to return to a store and purchasing habits.
-by Dr.ScentScents have been proven to eliminate stress, stimulate fond memories and inspire customers.
-by Smell & Taste Research Foundation
