Who among us hasn't come back from a shopping excursion, looked over the just-purchased haul, and wondered, What was I thinking? Often, our shopping decisions aren't the result of a completely logical thought process, but are instead affected by what we smell, hear, and touch, and what people around us are doing inside the store.
In the nearly 20 years that I've been interviewing shoppers, it's clear that most consumers like to think of themselves as rational, in-control human beings who carefully weigh costs versus benefits, compare prices, and rarely buy on impulse or come home with more than they need. It's also clear that few, if any, among us make wholly rational decisions when shopping.
Most consumers are oblivious to the fact that when you're shopping, you're the subject of a multi-pronged sensory campaign. Retailers, on the other hand, are well aware of how environmental cues—smells, sounds, colors, and more—can influence consumers' moods, desires, and willingness to spend money.
With the year's busiest shopping period at hand, it's a good time to try to understand how our senses and emotions can be manipulated inside stores, sometimes to the point that we're not thinking straight.
Scents
Smells make a direct hit to emotional centers of our brain. They have a unique ability to evoke moods and memories. It's no surprise that Bloomingdale's, Jimmy Choo, Hugo Boss, Victoria's Secret, and scores of other retailers use scents to stimulate positive and associative moods and enhance our perception of their brands and products.
In the nearly 20 years that I've been interviewing shoppers, it's clear that most consumers like to think of themselves as rational, in-control human beings who carefully weigh costs versus benefits, compare prices, and rarely buy on impulse or come home with more than they need. It's also clear that few, if any, among us make wholly rational decisions when shopping.
Most consumers are oblivious to the fact that when you're shopping, you're the subject of a multi-pronged sensory campaign. Retailers, on the other hand, are well aware of how environmental cues—smells, sounds, colors, and more—can influence consumers' moods, desires, and willingness to spend money.
With the year's busiest shopping period at hand, it's a good time to try to understand how our senses and emotions can be manipulated inside stores, sometimes to the point that we're not thinking straight.
Scents
Smells make a direct hit to emotional centers of our brain. They have a unique ability to evoke moods and memories. It's no surprise that Bloomingdale's, Jimmy Choo, Hugo Boss, Victoria's Secret, and scores of other retailers use scents to stimulate positive and associative moods and enhance our perception of their brands and products.
