IMPROVING THE STORE ENVIRONMENT - DO OLFACTORY CUES AFFECT EVALUATIONS AND BEHAVIORS

The popular press has recently reported that managers of retail and se rvice outlets are diffusing scents into their stores to create more po sitive environments and develop a competitive advantage. These efforts are occurring despite there being no scholarly research supporting th e use of scent in store environments. The authors present a review of theoretically relevant work from environmental psychology and olfactio n research and a study examining the effects of ambient scent in a sim ulated retail environment. In the reported study, the authors find a d ifference between evaluations of and behaviors in a scented store envi ronment and those in an unscented store environment. Their findings pr ovide guidelines for managers of retail and service outlets concerning the benefits of scenting store environments.