Online Shopping in the Multisensory Age

If there’s one problem that’s plagued the practice of online shopping since the birth of the Internet, it’s that shoppers really like to interact with products. They want to feel the texture and sniff the aroma and - in such cases as choosing a local restaurant or a box of Valentine chocolates - taste the wares, before forking over their hard-earned dollars.

Enter CD&I Associate’s The Sense, designed as part of the La Fin Du Design Exhibition, a wireless device that seeks to revolutionize online shopping by providing a way for consumers to smell, touch and taste their intended purchases before filling their cyber shopping cart. Sense is a combination of smell magnification system, smell and flavor-ink micro-printer, and a screen that is able to create a tactile experience of physical products. The micro-printer uses thirteen basic combinations of wax cartridges that print tiny translucent sheets to simulate flavors and melt in your mouth.

One of the most unique aspects about Sense is the touchscreen display which recreates the tactile experience through the use of nanotechnology. The user inserts his or her hands into the Sense sheath and is able to feel temperature, roughness, softness, hardness, or pressure. The device can be also be programmed with voice and read Braille text for the visually impaired. In addition to the experiences that come packaged with the device, new Sense applications can be downloaded from Internet.

Air Aroma Talking Scents with CBC News

For retailers heading into the holiday shopping season under the cloud of a bleak economy, there’s never been a more crucial need for an effective edge over the competition. CBC News’ Bob Nixon recently sat down with Dmitri Gailit from Air Aroma to sniff out the story on how scent marketing is impacting retail sales. Catch the full video HERE!

New Baby Smell!

Although they’re not making a stink about it (the added feature is not mentioned anywhere at their site), at least a couple of bloggers have been pleasantly surprised to find that Babies ‘R’ Us has spiced up their gift cards for this holiday season with the addition of scent!

“Did you know you can get scented gift cards at Babies R Us?” raves Jen at Honest Planet. “I didn’t either, and didn’t realize that it was scented until I got it home and was sorting through everything, and I was like, ‘What’s that yummy lavender smell?’ The whole front of the card is like a scratch-n-sniff!”

Guy Richards is likewise pleased with the new innovation. “Babies”R”Us is now placing scent on their gift cards. What a great idea. It makes the women’s pocketbook smell great and triggers a memory connection that keeps the brand in the forefront of the mind.”

Sweet Dreams for Restless Sleepers

Serta, Sealy, Sleep-Number, Tempurpedic…there are a lot of mattress giants trying to lure you into their beds. But, in a seemingly glutted market, Magniflex’s new Lavender Comfort model is a breath of fresh air. Through the miracle of nanotechnology, the concentrated aromatherapy oil is “woven” into the fabric. The scent capsules are triggered by movement so that tossing and turning will earn you and extra rush of calming, regenerative lavender when you need it most. Of course, nothing takes the aggression out of a spirited pillow fight like movement-triggered aromatherapeutic mattresses, but there’s a price for everything.

A New Approach to New Car Scent!

Mitsubishi’s first venture into hybrid passenger cars may prove to be the sweetest deal on the lot! The new PX-MiEV plug-in hybrid concept CUV, unveiled October 21 at the Tokyo Motor Show, features an enhanced “cocochi” interior package that both pampers the nose and uses the olfactory capability as a tool.

The PX-MiEV’s upholstery is coated with an anti-allergen protectant and visible light photocatalyst which Mitsubishi claims counteracts both offensive odors and volatile organic compounds such as pollen and other allergens. Each of the car’s four seats are individually air-conditioned to increase air circulation.

But this smart little auto doesn’t just smell good. A unique driver monitoring system actually perceives the driver’s concentration level and emits the correct targeted scent at what could prove to be a crucial moment. If the driver appears to be dozing, an invigorating peppermint or lemon scent will snap him out of it before he strays from his lane. Conversely, an agitated driver may find himself soothed out of that road rage mood by a shot of lavender and vanilla.

A.P.C. & Air Aroma present Sustain

Jean Touitou, founder of A.P.C., never thought he would create a perfume…until he met essential oil perfumist Haley Alexander Van Oosten in L.A. After trying one of her essential oil blends and liking the idea of a little glass bottle inside a wood container, Touitou decided otherwise.

The end result is Sustain, is a new total-concept perfume inspired by Ray Davies’s song Waterloo Sunset. The composition contains 12 essential oils to allude to the 12 string guitar used to play the song. The wooden packaging is the reproduction of the numerical image of that same song. The name was chosen to refer to the pedal that prolongs a musical accord. Finally, in this intertwining of perfume and music, one of the ideas for the scent was to express “…the perception of the smell of a guitar case –lined in bright velvet– in which rose petals would have been scattered.”

The scent was introduced on September 10, 2009. Only 300 copies have been released worldwide.

To launch Sustain in its stores in Paris, New York and L.A., A.P.C. partnered with Air Aroma to diffuse a derivative version of Sustain through Air Aroma’s stylish Aroslim diffusers. The result is a subtle scent lingering throughout the stores, clearly leaving Touitou’s mark.

The Sweet Scent of Singapore

Congratulations to our friends at ScentAir on their expansion into Singapore!

ION Orchard, a thriving luxury shopping experience in the heart of Singapore’s vibrant retail scene, has enlisted ScentAir and its Singapore distribution partner AllSense to design the signature scents for its 640,000 square foot mall, known for its holistic, multisensory approach.

“Our vision for ION Orchard was to create an experience – an icon fitting of its unmatched location at the gateway to one of Asia’s most vibrant shopping strips,” said Ms. Soon Su Lin, Chief Executive of Orchard Turn Developments. “True to the multisensory experience promised to guests, the mall will offer customized ION Orchard Signature scents ensuring a complete and engaging experience to any visitor.”

In addition to the ION Orchard Signature scents, fragrances such as White Tea and Thyme, Tropical Spice, Fresh Apple, Sandalwood Fire and Baby Powder are used subtly throughout the mall through ScentAir’s HVAC, in-ceiling and portable ScentWave systems.

“ION Orchard is leading the way in redefining the retail experience,” said David Amaral, Vice President of International Business for ScentAir. “We are excited to be a part of this breakthrough retail concept in such a vibrant international market.”

The Endorphin Branding™ of Sin City

Among the first savvy institutions to recognize the effectiveness of scent marketing, individual Las Vegas casinos have been using fragrance to maximize profits for years (when the slot machine area of one Las Vegas casino was infused heavily with a pleasant scent, revenues shot up by 53%). But a pending collaboration between top Vegas executives, city officials, and the Vegas Airport Authority may mark the first-ever scent branding of an entire city.

The Scent of Las Vegas will be unveiled on November 20th during the upcoming ScentWorld Conference & Expo 2009on November 20th under the management of the Scent Marketing Institute. “It is the ideal medium to capture and transmit the soul of the city, defining it as a world-class brand,” says Institute founder Harald H. Vogt.

The creative task of developing the Signature Scent of Sin City will fall to “enfant terrible of contemporary perfumery” Christophe Laudamiel, the man behind such notable fragrance movers and shakers as Estée Lauder, Ralph Lauren and Abercrombie & Fitch.

“The Scent of Las Vegas will add another key dimension to the powerful Vegas brand,” says Steven Landau, concept co-creator, CMO and founder of ScentSational Technologies. “Imagine landing at the airport and knowing just by the scent, that you’ve arrived.”

Real Fashion Scents!

There was something new in the air at Fashion Week 2009. Thanks to the creative noses at ScentAir, the goth feather & leather stylings of Rodarte’s 2010 line hit the catwalk in a multisensory orchestration of sight, sound and scent.

Produced and directed by Alexandre de Betak of Bureau Betak, the show engaged its audience at the Gagosian Gallery before the lights came up with billows of smoky fog and a smoldering woodsy fragrance produced by ScentAir’s patented ScentWaves technology, which uses a dry-air technology that releases fragrance without sprays, aerosols or heated oils.

A complete video of the show - minus the olfactory element - is available on www.rodarte.net.

Endorphin Branding™ on a Budget

If you’re still on the fence about the benefits of scent branding your product, here’s a nifty budget-conscious way to test the waters. For about the price of the same promotional pens you’re already encouraging customers to “steal,” ScentedPens.com can set you up with Aromawriters, designed to tickle the olfactory center of your customer and make sure your brand lingers pleasantly in their mind. Retailers can choose from an inventory of stock fragrances or take advantage of the fragrance matching service to tailor a scent uniquely designed to capture the special essence of their product.

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