Furthermore, fragrances are now used by retail companies for brand building

It all started in USA, in food establishments.  Coffee shops and bakeries started using the captivating scent of coffee and just baked bread to attract customers.  You can bet it worked, if not just walk around a café or bakery in a busy street of your city.  You might have thought it is the logical smell…and yes, it is.  However, there are ventilating systems dedicated to spread the smell out of the shop.  In addition, other techniques are used, such as placing the ovens of bakeries near the entrance door.

Commonly, we understand the use of smell in food establishments is enhanced because the aroma plays an important role when deciding what to eat.  But, what about retail shops? Have you noticed the increased use of specific scents in retail shops?

Different researches show that senses have an influence on brand loyalty.  Also, in this case, smell is the sense more closely connected to the area of our brain that manages emotions and impulses.  Besides, our brain relates different smells to memories.  Hence the importance of fragrances for brands.

If we are able to associate a pleasant scent with a brand, we will have a better impression of that brand.  We can recall the brand by recalling the scent.  Actually, scientific research confirms we remember more what we smell than what we see.  Surprising?

In general, all senses add value to brands.  The more senses involved in the brand identity the more likely it will be remembered and distinguished among its competitors.  Also, we can close our eyes, we can cover our ears, but we can’t stop smelling.

Consequently, the search of uniqueness requires taking senses into account.  As we said earlier, retail shops are a really good example of the use of senses, of the creation of a sensorial experience.  Many brands in the retail sector pick carefully the environmental music they play at their establishments, the furniture or the lightening used in their shops and, of course, their singular scent, as a tool to help them being differentiated.

Eurofragance creates perfumes not only for our homes, also for retailing and big events.  One of our experts in sensorial marketing, Adrian Argente, tells us the raw materials of a brand scent can vary depending on the purpose: “if the fragrance is required for an event we can use a stronger scent, to make a statement, to thrill our customers; but if we want to scent a shop we should keep in mind, workers and also customers are going to spend more time smelling, so we can use a lighter and fresher scent, using citrus or fresh florals, for example”.

Adrian Argente also gives us a clue about the current trend: “the influence of Middle Eastern perfumey is now more noticeable”.  Brands want a scent that can distinguish them, scents that are powerful and able to leave a mark on consumers’ mind.  Exotic florals, amber, woods and moss are raw materials very demanded inside the fashion retail industry.  These olfactive notes last longer and can give us a feeling of luxury and sophistication.

Now, think about a scent you can identify with a retail brand, surely you can remember at least one.  Interesting, isn´t it?