How scenting can increase sales and customer retention

Have you ever considered why the bakery is almost always at the back of the grocery store? It’s no accident. If something smells pleasant or enticing, we often follow our noses, letting the homely scent of fresh baking guide us through the aisles where we may be tempted to pick up some unplanned purchases en route. 

This clever strategy is a perfect example of ‘embodied cognition’, the idea that our bodily sensations, like our sense of smell, help to determine our decisions without our conscious awareness. Understanding embodied cognition is critical for retailers because it highlights how the sensory experience they create constantly shapes how customers think, feel and act in their settings. 

In this blog, we’re taking this powerful phenomenon beyond the bakery. We’ll explore how retail businesses can strategically harness the power of scent to subtly guide the customer journey and improve business outcomes.

Scenting for sales: uncovering the olfactory advantage

Our sense of smell is unique and powerful. Unlike sight or sound, scent has a direct, unfiltered pathway to the limbic system in our brain, which is responsible for emotion, memory and motivation. 

This powerful connection is what makes scent marketing, also known as olfactory marketing or ambient scenting, such a compelling tool for retailers.

The irresistible pull of scent

The idea that we follow our noses isn’t just for baked goods. Our research¹ found that 74% of consumers have been drawn into a retail store because of an inviting smell, and the allure doesn’t stop there. Once inside, scent can increase consumer involvement by 38%, actively shaping their opinions of your business and the choices they make.

It also means that careful and considered scenting can help businesses demonstrate their brand’s values or services/products. For example, a high-end luxury retail brand could use rich, premium scents like leather and wood to help showcase a high-end retail brand’s quality and make customers more likely to make an expensive purchase. 

Longer stays and bigger baskets

When an environment is pleasant and comfortable, people tend to linger longer. Scenting offers a powerful tool here. We’ve seen this in hospitality settings, with nearly a third of people saying a pleasant smell in a hotel would make them want to stay longer.1 If we transpose this to retail environments, the longer customers stay, the more opportunities they have to discover your products, engage with your offerings and make more purchases. 

The evidence speaks for itself, with studies showing how scent can be a powerful driver for sales:

• Boosting intent to purchase — a study at Nike2 revealed that a pleasant floral scent in its stores increased customers' intent to purchase by over 80%.
• Increasing spending — an entertainment venue saw a 45% increase in spending when scenting was used. 
• Driving impulse buys — at a petrol station, the scent of coffee led to a 300% increase in drink purchases.

Creating lasting connections

Scent can even help people remember your brand and want to choose it again in the future. For example, a study found that scenting pencils with tea tree oil dramatically increased participants’ ability to recall the pencils’ brand and other details. Findings like this suggest that a ‘signature scent’ is more than a nice-to-have for retail brands. Instead, it can become deeply associated with who they are and what they offer, creating a familiar and distinctive identity when customers visit different store locations.

And the relationship between scent and memory goes further. In 2011, Matsunaga et al investigated the ‘Proust phenomenon’ — the process where a scent evokes a specific memory. Their findings noted a close connection between the amygdala, which regulates the endocrine and immune systems (the systems that keep us well) and the olfactory system (our sense of smell). Their research suggested that when people are exposed to nostalgic scents, memories associated with them can increase positive mood states, such as comfort and happiness and decrease negative mood states, such as anxiety. 

What could scenting help your business achieve?

The evidence suggests that scents can impact how we feel and what we do, whether we realise it or not. An environment that smells like something we have positive associations with can make us feel more content or remind us of something that makes us feel good, while an inviting scent can also be enough to tempt us into a business in the first place or encourage us to stay there longer.

Your scent selection checklist

When looking for the right scent for your retail setting, ask yourself these questions:

• Brand first: Does the scent reflect your brand's identity?
• Audience appeal: Will it resonate with your target customer?
• Space savvy: Is it right for your store's size and layout?
• Simple and subtle: Is it pleasant and clean, not overpowering?

At Premium Scenting by Initial, we understand how fragrance can reflect brand identity and influence shopper behaviour. Our expertise can help you create memorable retail environments that differentiate your store, support brand storytelling and drive measurable business impact. We would love to help you find the perfect scent for your setting and invite you to book a consultation today.

¹ Premium Scenting, The Business Impact of Scent, 2016

² The 2006 Nike study cited in Lindstrom, M. (2008). Buy-ology: How everything we believe about why we buy is wrong. London: Random House Business Books.