Have you noticed how sometimes there is an overwhelming smell of fresh bread, hot chocolate, baked chicken or freshly brewed coffee hanging in the air while you are shopping in the supermarket? I notice it especially later in the day when people shop for dinner after work. It has never tempted me to go and buy anything associated with those smells, but I have overheard people talking about it and acting on it. Another clever sale strategy.
I don't know if it's always a sales strategy as much as that's just the way it smells. I mean, sure, when you walk by the bakery section, the bread smell often entices people to purchase bread, but I don't think you need to worry about "falling for it" or anything. There are far more other true sales strategies to be aware of rather than the smell of something baking in an oven.
Yes, I'm always tempted when it comes to smells. I hate going tp the supermarket when I'm hungry, specially the bakery section which always smells so nice! But my main temptation is not even food smells, but actual fragrance scents. I can't go close to a Bath&Body Works store without getting sucked in by the smell, and next thing I know I already bought a bunch of candles and body washes!
I agree with this 100%. It is not a sales strategy. That is how the food smells. If you walk down the soap isle, it will smell like soap. No conspiracy here.
The sales strategy that get me more than the good smelling cookies or chocolate is the good music. There have been times when I am enjoying the music so much have finished my shopping and just can not leave the store because I do not want to miss the next song. It is usually music that I have not heard in along time and really enjoy. I do spend more money when I hang around longer to hear the music.
I need to shop where you shop. I WISH it smelled that way. But this did remind me of the old theater trick. There were theaters (still think there are) that would pump popcorn smell through the vents in the middle of the movie to encourage concession sales.
That's a neat trick, people might already be thinking about it from hearing other movie goers eating, if they also smell popcorn, they will go to the lobby at the intermission. As for the supermarket smells, like it has been said, that's just the way food smells, if you said they artificially pumped the smell through the vents, then you might be on to something
The smell of the local Italian market is incredibly enticing. I always want to buy some sauce when I drop in, or some hot roast beef sandwiches. It's intoxicating.
This reminds me, I don't think there are as many around these days but Hallmark stores smell absolutely divine. It's strange because mainly they seem to have greeting cards and figurines but for some reason (I'm guessing they have many candles after all?) it smells like absolute heaven in there, so fresh and warm and I just want to go there now even though I'm more of a geeky type and very little appeals to me in there, lol. I agree about restaurant smells also being enticing, especially bakery smells in the morning.
It is defiantly a well thought out attempt to temp you into. I watched a news show the other day where they showed what movie theaters did to lure you to the snack bar. They have a pipe that runs from the popcorn maker, goes through the air vents into all the theaters. You can not get away from the smell of there hot buttery treat. Everything stores do and how they are arranged have to do with getting you to buy things you don't really need. Milk is way in the back of the store because a person has to go all the way through the store to get the one thing people just want to grab on the way home. Candy is at level to kids, bakery's are usually located in the front of the store so that you will get hungry from smelling the bread baking which will supposedly make you buy more. They are always looking to catch your eye or your nose to temp the customer.
With the exception of what I read about the movie house, I don't think that the smell of fresh bread is premeditated, but the location of the store is. Like in the malls, they place the food in the main floor where most people enter and exit. Now that is 1 example of sales strategy.
There was a cinnamon bun spot in the mall I used to frequent as a kid. I couldn't walk into that mall without smelling cinnamon buns and I had to get one, every time. Smell can be a powerful thing, and it's the sense most linked with memory. Every time I smell cinnamon buns now I think back to that mall from my childhood.
I think it's all psychological tactics they use to influence you to buy on a more subconsious level more than anything. Because when you think about it, most stores are selling very similar products and there's not really much to seperate them from the next guy whos out there making it happen and selling the same product. But us as human beings, our sense of smell are so strong that we remember everything we smell, meaning that smell has the strongest impact out of all our senses. That is why most major stores use those erotic smells I believe.
