MikePaterson
NOTICE TO SHOPPERS
Posted on: 01/11/2007 16:29
(I posted this in 'health and agining' amongst smokers stuff; but it seems different enough to warrant a topic)
DOLLARS AND SCENTS
Some shops now put subtle smells in the air to encourage spending. It has been researched in some depth and there are smells that apparently encourage people to reach for the piece of plastic and spend: "sensory branding" they call it.
Samsung, De Beers,Verizon Wireless, Sony and others have been doing it.
One study found that "feminine" smells like vanilla doubled sales of women's clothes; men's clothes went like lightning with scents like rose maroc in the air... somewthing to do with emotional manipulation. (AromaSys is a compant in Minnesota that scents up most of the Las Vegas casinos and hundreds of spas and hotels around the U.S. They deny that scents will make people gamble more; "it's no different to chairs or lighting" their boss says. I believe that... casinos are all too happy to fork out money with no return in mind.)
Much of this is done covertly and subtly: retailers aren't keen on having consumer protection issies raised or controls legislated. And it's not as though it affects anyone, of course.
This was in 'New Scientist' Dec 16-22, 2006. It's a respectable, accurate UK-based source that I'd recommend to anyone interested in scientific issues and scientific takes on news issues (vastly better and more topical than Scientific American, etc).
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Comments
kjoy
Posted on: 01/11/2007 19:41
Can we tell the smell is there? Or is it so subtle that it's subliminal? Anyway, more manipulation.
I heard that magazines are now going to offer some kind of taste strips. Similar to scratch and sniff, I guess, but you'll be able to taste the product. Gross if you ask me. How about trying one out in that magazine in the doctor's office.
sighsnootles
Posted on: 01/12/2007 08:06
gah....
Luce
Posted on: 01/13/2007 00:08
I hadn't heard about sensory branding via smells before, but I can't say it surprises me. Am I dismayed to hear it's happening? Not really, in that it's nothing that new. For years, other aspects of the environment in stores and restaurants have been designed in order to manipulate consumer behavior. For example, McDonald's restaurants used to use predominantly stimulating colors in their decors - reds, yellows and oranges. The rationale was that customers would be subtly stimulated to eat faster and get out faster so that there was room for greater customer turn-over. (I can't cite any references for this, but remember it from a psych lecture in university.)
The moral of the story is that very little in these places is done by chance. We need to be aware of how we are being influenced so that we aren't so easily manipulated. Thanks for the heads-up (noses up??) on the scents.
mrjams96
Posted on: 01/13/2007 00:30
what i hate about the advertising industry is the new idea for the internet, the newest force in the advertising attack on our web browsers are popup adds in the form of floating banners that "pop up" in the same window, its a combination between the banner adds around websites and the pop ups. very irritating because you cant close them you have to wait for them to close themselves which takes awhile. it annoys the cheese out of me.