Chocolate Scent Can Boost Bookstore Sales
August 9, 2013
Belgian researchers did a 10-day experiment at a general-interest chain bookstore which involved comparing the behavior of customers with and without the scent of chocolate. There were dispensers that released a scent of chocolate set in two different locations.
Researchers observed every fifth customer who came into the store, for a total of 201 customers. They were able to notice different “purchase-related” customer behaviors such as closely checking many different books, going over the summaries of books, hanging out in the store, speaking with and inquiring the staff.
To sum it all up, it was found that people who frequent the store were twice as likely to look at multiple books closely and read what they were about when the air is filled with the scent of chocolate. They were about three times as likely to interact with the staff.
However, the smell of chocolate had something to do with the subject matter for patrons to be more lured in by the books. The study displayed how the scent of chocolate was “congruent” with books in the food, drink and romance genres, but “incongruent” with history, mystery and crime books. And women spent more time and were more likely to buy books in the romance and cookbook sections as compared to men.
This particular study may be done in a bookstore, but the results could be relevant to people who own shops that are on the lookout for creative ways to lure in customers – within a field of research called "scent marketing."
"Retailers can make use of pleasant ambient scents to improve the store environment, leading consumers to explore the store," said the authors. It was also suggested that the shop owners focus on the relevance of the scent to the products.
I don’t know about you, but I think shops would attract tons and tons of people if they offered free chocolate for a minimum purchase. Haha!
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Very cool! I’ll have to get some of that chocolate-scented air freshener for when I do my chocolate events! Hopefully, it would help me sell more copies of Chocolatour!