Odor in Marketing

Abstract

Marketers are increasingly using scent for differentiating, enhancing, and promoting products, and services. The spreading commercial use of scent, however, stands in contrast to a limited and fragmented body of knowledge on how people as consumers perceive and respond to olfactory stimulation. To facilitate a better understanding of opportunities and limitations to the commercial use of scent, this chapter reviews the state of research in the psychology, consumer behavior, and marketing literature. Extant studies examine scent as a primary product attribute, a secondary product attribute, an agent for promotional efforts, and as an ambient cue. Organized in six major sections, the chapter starts with a discussion of effective characteristics and the human processing of scent. A comprehensive review of consumer responses to scent follows. Section 56.4 adopts a multimodal perspective to illustrate how scent interacts with other sensory modalities to influence consumers as multisensory beings. Section 56.5 highlights individual and situational factors that can enhance or mute olfactory effects. The chapter concludes with a discussion of ethical aspects and outlines avenues for future research that may prove beneficial to both researchers and practitioners.