How marketers capitalize on your senses

I have a nose that rivals that of a bloodhound. Especially when it comes to identifying food. Ever since I was a child, if a scent is present even in the slightest bit, I can almost always pick out what my nose is detecting.

In today's consumer society, there is an infinite number of ways that marketers capitalize on the sense of smell. Every (respectable) store one has ever visited is suited to have a unique scent. Not only does a unique olfactory presence create a more pleasant environment, but it helps consumers associate a good shopping experience with a specific brand.

Abercrombie & Fitch, for example, has the same smell in every retail store I have ever been inside. The aroma is typically modeled after a line of cologne of perfume that is being sold, which is 100% unique to the Abercrombie brand. This is brilliant on Abercrombie's strategic approach, since you can purchase the same smell at the counter and take it with you following your clothing purchases.

Any successful food store (bakeries especially) take great pains to ensure that what you smell is enticing. A hungry shopper is apt to buy anything that looks and smells delicious to them. Freshness, healthiness, and taste can all be expressed through a carefully engineered scent.

Conversely, a poorly planned or unpleasant smell can be detrimental to a business. As a student at Ohio University, I recently went to Walmart for weekly errands. While many Walmarts tend to be enormous, there are a variety of smells that impact a shoppers experience. While browsing the produce section, I was disgusted with both the appearance and odor coming from a pile of cantalopes. Not only did I not want to purchase the cantalope, but I was then hesitant to buy anything from the produce department.

While a cantalope is considered a smaller purchase, my experience had a negative effect on my willingness to buy anything from the whole section of food. While I still purchased a few small items, I did not feel good about the money I was spending. As a result, I will likely shop more frequently at Kroger to get fruits, vegetables and other perishable foods. In all, I spent about $15 on food at Walmart in that particular section, as opposed to my normal $30+.