The idea of using pleasant ambient scents to connect to consumers is well founded. The exposure to pleasant ambient scents on average produces a substantial increase in the level of customer responses (3%–15%). However, it requires judiciously considering the various situational contingencies as they are eventually decisive for the increase in the level of customer responses due to ambient scent.

1. From: Roschk and Hosseinpour (2020)
The Effects of Pleasant Ambient
Scents on Customer Responses
How to leverage ambient scent effects in retail
and service environments

2. From: Roschk and Hosseinpour (2020)
Singapore Airlines emit a pleasant
scent into their aircraft cabins.
Pleasant Ambient Scents in the
Marketplace
 Due to pressures from e-commerce, firms seek to perfect their in-store experience to
provide sensory interactions that consumers cannot get virtually or at a competitor.
 For creating a distinct in-store experience, some firms focused on pleasant ambient
scents present in the retail or service environment.
 This strategy has created various success stories, such as Hyatt Place enhancing its
brand memorability.
www.singaporeair.comWpcpey [CC BY-SA 4.0]
(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)]
Hyatt Place uses ambient scent to
increase its brand memorability.
Abercrombie & Fitch is known for
scenting their retail stores.
www.hyatt.com

3. From: Roschk and Hosseinpour (2020)
Meta-Analysis of Prior Experimental
Results about Ambient Scent
 We calculated 671 effect sizes that compare customer responses in an unscented
environment with those in a scented environment, which are based on 71 independent
samples reported in 64 articles comprising overall 15,447 respondents.
 The average sample member had a mean age of 32.6 years and a mean proportion of
females of 60%. For those samples that had an origin available, 91% were from Western
countries (North America 48%, Europe 41%, and Australia 2%) and 9% from others (Asia
7%, Africa 2%).

4. From: Roschk and Hosseinpour (2020)
How Ambient Scent Affects Customer
Responses
The chart shows the average percent increase in the level of the customer responses
due to the presence (vs. absence) of a pleasant ambient scent:
6.2 5.6 4.7
7.7 7.8
9.2
11.3
7.1 6.7 6.3
3.2
5.0
0
5
10
15
20
Increasein%

5. From: Roschk and Hosseinpour (2020)
The Impact of Ambient Scent on Sales
 Customer expenditures increase 3% (on average) and 23% (in the most
favorable conditions) in the presence of ambient scent
 In unfavorable conditions, ambient scent could lead to a 17% decrease in
expenditures.
 What does the data suggest are favorable or unfavorable conditions?

6. From: Roschk and Hosseinpour (2020)
What conditions help?
 When the ambient scent fits to the
environment, where it is used in.
 When the aroma of the ambient scent
is familiar to consumers and contains a
single dimension.
 When females are the main group of
consumers.
 When services are provided to
consumers.
What conditions hurt?
 When the ambient scent does not fit to
the environment, where it is used in.
 When the aroma of the ambient scent
is not familiar to consumers and
contains multiple dimensions.
 If music is present, when its arousal
(energy) level differs to that of the
ambient scent.
What Influences the Impact of Pleasant
Ambient Scents?