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Stockholm, Sweden. Case study on environmental scents
In 2010, two researchers from the Stockholm School of Economics conducted a market research experiment to test the power of olfactory marketing. The product they chose to test was the new Head & Shoulders Hair Defense shampoo. The researchers write, "New products are associated with higher perceived risk, making it an interesting object of study since contemporary research on olfactory marketing shows that a pleasant scent makes customers less risk-sensitive and more variety-seeking."
Over the course of four weeks for the study, they tested perfume in four supermarkets and recorded more than 800 customer observations and 600 questionnaires. The results of their study show that in-store scent use increases sales not only of the test product (in this case, Head & Shoulders shampoo), but also of nearby products. In addition, in-store scent use improves customers' mood and overall ratings of the store and customer experience.
Thesis
Their main thesis was how olfactory cues can influence consumer response in a cluttered retail environment. Using scent in the retail space, they tested how the presence of a pleasant and congruent scent functions as two functions. The first is how scent can be used as a marketing method in grocery stores. The second is how scent affects consumers' cognitive ability to process and remember advertising messages.
Details of the experiment
- Who, What, Where, When: The researchers used four of the same grocery store chain in four different locations in Stockholm as the study site. The test product chosen was the new Head & Shoulders Hair Defense shampoo, a product naturally associated with scent, which requires a high level of personal involvement from customers and a high frequency of purchase. The study was conducted for four weeks. During the four weeks, they made 837 customer observations and collected 628 questionnaires. In addition, during the four-week study, there were no complaints about fragrance from consumers.
- Why: The study was carried out thoroughly using the Latin Square Design method to minimize the effects of timing and variation among stores. Each week, stores would change the use of scent and visual displays. For one week, two stores would have the scent present, while the other two would not. In addition, two stores would have visual messages about product displays, while the other two had cognitive messages. The researchers rotated each week which store would have scented and visual or cognitive product ads. Therefore, the researchers tested the effects of scent on overall consumer behavior and whether scent increased consumer cognition if scent made consumers more receptive to ads with sales arguments for that product.
- How: The researchers placed the scented machines accordingly near the product display in the store according to the weekly experience schedule. The scent used was Lemon Fresca. In fact, the two researchers actually conducted a pre-test to determine which scent to use for this research. They concluded at the end of their pre-test that Lemon had the most positive reactions and related to the scent of Head & Shoulders shampoo the best. In addition, the visual and cognitive signs differed in that the cognitive signs contained messages such as "protects against hair damage," "helps slow hair loss," and "reduces dandruff." The visual signs showed only the product image and the word "new."
Finally, the questionnaire was conducted by the researchers by approaching customers and recording their responses. Each questionnaire contained 11 questions, starting with the customer's visit to the store and purchase. Next, they asked the customer about their evaluation of the store, the scent, and the product. Then, questions were asked about the customer's mood: did the fragrance make them feel less stressed? Finally, the questionnaire concluded with basic questions about age and gender.
Results
With data on sales, consumers and questionnaires, the researchers concluded the following:
- The presence of a pleasant fragrance enhances the mood of customers.
- It increased sales of the tested product: total sales of Head & Shoulders shampoo increased by about 17% with the fragrance present. Total shampoo sales increased about 20% with fragrance present.
- It also increased sales of products in the surrounding area. Sales of products in the vicinity of the shampoo also increased by about 3% with fragrance present.
- Perfume increased the amount of unplanned shampoo purchases. The increase in impulse buying by shampoo customers was about 13%.
- It also increased the amount of variety-seeking purchases in the product category. There was an increase of about 14% in variety-seeking when fragrance was present; consumers opted for brands they do not usually buy.
- General increase in customer interest in the product: the number of customers who passed by, stopped, looked at the product and/or purchased increased with the presence of the scent.
- Finally, the presence of the scent produced more positive evaluations of the store: customers felt it was less cluttered with advertising and felt less stressed inside. However, positive evaluations of the product increased only marginally.
Conclusion
Using scent as a marketing strategy has been shown to increase sales of a specific product category. Scent also improves the mood of customers when they are in the store, prompting them to spend more time in the store and become interested in your product. In addition, scent has spread to other areas of the store, also increasing sales of nearby products, especially in the personal care category. Finally, scent will also improve customers' perception of your brand and, ultimately, brand loyalty.