The Use of Scents to Influence Consumers

There is perhaps no more compelling proof of the effectiveness of scent marketing than the ongoing controversy over whether the practice gives marketers an unfair edge by working - in effect - too well.

In The Use of Scents to Influence Consumers: The Sense of Using Scents to Make Cents, published in the Journal of Business Ethics, authors Kevin D Bradford and Debra M Desrochers analyze the ethical issues associated with scent marketing, arguing that the practice raises troubling issues because of the subliminal, unobserved, and “unstoppable” nature of the sense of smell.

“Since the sense of smell cannot be turned off and it prompts immediate, emotional responses, marketers are becoming aware of its usefulness in communicating with consumers. Consequently, over the last few years consumers have been increasingly influenced by ambient scents, which are defined as general odors that do not emanate from a product but are present as part of the retail environment. The goal of this article is to create awareness of the ethical issues in the scent marketing industry. In particular, we illuminate areas of concern regarding the use of scents to persuade, and its potential to make consumers vulnerable to marketing communications. Since this is a new frontier for marketers, we begin with an explanation of what makes the sense of smell different from other senses. We then provide a description of how scents are used in marketing, past research on the power of scents, and the theoretical basis for, and uses of scents to influence consumers. This brings us to the discussion of the ethical considerations regarding the use of this sense. We close with several future research ideas that would provide more evidence of how the sense of smell can, and should be used by marketers.”