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?
Choosing an appropriate scent has never been so important. Customers want to go back shopping in the real stores, they want to have fun and an unforgettable and positive experience. It is important to remember, however, that a new consumer mindset might mean that your current brand scent might not work as well.
So, what scent or music or messaging should you use for your retail store to reopen them with success?
This and more we cover in our signature Store Reopening Consultation. And for a limited time only, we have decided to offer an incredible discount as we want to help all brands and retailers to open successfully.
If your brand operates 1 or 2 stores, you qualify for our super start-up offer of £249 instead of £1,000 and we are also running a competition in search of one brand (with up to 2 stores) who will receive the Store Reopening Consultation completely free!
For bigger brands (with more than 2 stores) we are offering 50% discount on our standard fees.
The offer is valid only until the 1st of April 2021.
Not sure yet?
Participate in our free webinar where we will discuss key psychological shifts in consumer mindset and a few great psychological tricks to make your reopening customer experience way more successful. The webinar will take place on Tuesday 23rd March at 12pm GMT.
