When Mariah Carey blares from the speakers, it means only one thing: Santa Claus is coming to town! That Christmas is just around the corner is particularly evident in stores. To get consumers in the right shopping mood, many shopkeepers put on Christmas decorations. But especially with Christmas music. A smart move if you ask us. But can you outsmart them even further by adding a Christmas fragrance?
If you add a Christmas scent to your Christmas music, your visitors will appreciate your store better, experience more fun and excitement, AND are more likely to visit your store again, according to Spangenberg, Grohmann and Sprott (2005). This will not only benefit you during the Christmas shopping season, but also afterwards! For the ultimate Christmas experience and (Christmas) sales, fill your store not only with the sounds of Mariah Carey and Chris Rea, but also with the smell of Christmas. It's beginning to smell a lot like Christmas!
That scent has a great influence on our perception, our feelings and our actions, among other things, has already been scientifically proven many times. For example, 75% of our feelings are determined by smell! And let us make most decisions subconsciously, based on this feeling. For example, when you smell a pleasant fragrance, your brain focuses on the positive aspects of the environment in question. For the negative aspects you have become blind. In short, your experience of the environment changes. In this way, a pleasant smell can transform an ordinary clothing store into a high-end boutique! One where prices, products and service are better appreciated. And the great thing is: that appreciation pays off - literally.
So we know that smell affects us. But what exactly happens in the Christmas matter? The answer lies in the Proust effect. Some things we see, hear or smell make us travel back in our brain to a particular event. Whether we want to or not. For example, the smell of syrup waffles or other cookies immediately reminds some people of their grandmother. Walking out of her kitchen, with a cookie jar in her hand. Similarly, the smell of Christmas also brings a certain emotion or thought to many people. Often this is the feeling of togetherness, coziness and joy. And that feeling then radiates - as we know by now - to that person's environment. In this case: your store. Not wrong, right? We say: cheers to the Proust effect! But with mulled wine then...
.Seo, Buschhüter and Hummel (2009) answered this question with the results of their research. For example, they asked two groups of subjects whether certain scents were more appropriate for summer or Christmas time. The first group answered these questions at summer time, the other group at Christmas time. The result? Both groups associated the smell of orange, cloves and especially cinnamon with the Christmas season. The striking difference between the two groups? The association of cinnamon smell with the Christmas season, as well as the familiarity and pleasantness of this smell, was significantly higher in the "Christmas group" than in the "summer group. So this does not only mean that orange, clove and cinnamon are considered Christmas scents by everyone. It also means that cinnamon scent is appreciated even more during Christmas! Bonus effect!
Literally and figuratively. Orange, cloves and - Christmas stunner - cinnamon spread scents that not only create a Christmas atmosphere, but also a buying atmosphere! Your visitors have a nicer experience while shopping in your store and you reap the benefits. In short, win-win! Will your Christmas peak only be in your tree? Or also in your sales? If that's not a nice (Christmas) present for yourself!