Find out how to create a pleasant, memorable shopping experience using scent, and watch how customers respond.
When customers walk into the new Flip Flop Shops in Winter Garden, Florida, they are instantly transported to a laid-back beach. Leading flip flop and other footwear brands line the walls, racks and displays are loaded with beach and surf apparel, and gear and accessories fill out the rest of the space. In addition, the beachy decor, music and aroma all give off the impression that the that customers have entered into a beachy getaway.
“All I’m missing is a bar,” jokes Oliver Joseph, who helps manage the store owned by his wife Lori Joseph. He’s planning on correcting that. He just ordered a piña colada machine and plans to start pushing a cart around and serving them to customers.
An aromatic requirementWhen getting the store ready to open, having it smell like the beach was a priority. As part of the franchise agreement with Flip Flop Shops, the store is required to have a beachy scent.
Steve Schultz’ title embodies the relaxed vibe of Flip Flop Shops. The “director of shop shenanigans” for the corporate business for the last five years says the company was actually thinking of doing away with the scent requirement, but he had to rethink that after witnessing its impact.
“As we were looking at all of the operations of the business and the associated costs, I thought the coconut scent could be eliminated,” he recalls. “But once I started visiting the shops and experienced the customers reactions, the scents were here to stay. It reminds the customer of their last beach vacation.”
As customers move through the environment they do notice the scent, according to Schultz. Now, he says, “I have focused in on the smell of a shop. It’s like popcorn in a movie theater. Different scents trigger different things. It is part of our DNA.”
 An Our Aroma diffuser blends into a display. Flip Flop Shops even has a large shop in Old Sacramento Waterfront that offers beach-related products in the front and mountain products in the back. “You go from coconut to pine and it’s fun when the customers notice that,” says Schultz.
To accomplish that goal of pumping “coconutty” aromas into the store, the Josephs partnered with Our Aroma, Melbourne, Florida. Our Aroma supplies scented oils and atomizer diffuser machines to many industries. Joseph started with one, then ordered another and then another.
“You don’t even have to think twice about it,” he says, describing the device as looking like a modem. “It is on a timer. I just put the liquid in and it mists. It blends in pretty much anywhere you put it.”
He admits he bought his first diffuser to be in compliance and the other two he bought just because he liked the technology.
One diffuser is placed by the cash register, one is at the front entrance and one is in the middle of the store. Each one emits a coconut fragrance that the customers seem to respond to.
“They feel like they are on the beach,” says Joseph, who just ordered a larger bottle of the coconut scent. “I only want to use the one scent because people start to associate that scent with your store subconsciously.”
And whether it is the scent, the customer service, the product offerings or a combination, business has really taken off since its opening in March.
“We’ve only been open a month and we’ve probably been hitting record numbers for the company,” Joseph said in April. “I’ve got a good staff aged 19 to 23, and its just the customer service and the laid back feeling. Nobody’s judging you. You’re just basically chilling and listening to reggae music.”
The scent, he says, just adds to that vibe. “I think it just fits everything. People remember it and they get the experience that they’re at the beach and want to come here.”
Science behind scentJoseph’s experience with scent at Flip Flop Shops may be anecdotal evidence, but science also backs up the impact scent can have.
Paul Prior, founder of Our Aroma describes scent marketing as “a type of sensory marketing targeting a shoppers’ sense of smell.”
It involves diffusing strategically chosen scents at different locations in your store. The goal is to create a memorable, pleasant shopping experience and increase sales, according to Prior.
Research referenced by Mood Media cited by Shopify points to some powerful statistics. “75% of all emotions generated every day are due to smell, and because of this, we are 100 times more likely to remember something we smell over something we see, hear or touch. Additional scent marketing research shows that there is a 40% improvement in mood after being exposed to pleasant scents.”
Prior says creating an inviting and unique scent can be accomplished through a variety of ways, including diffusers, candles or incense, but he notes, there is more to scent marketing than merely creating a space with a pleasant aroma. “It is the art of amplifying the values of the company’s brand identity and target audience within the retail space of common areas of the business.”
Did you know? We are 100x more likely to remember what we smell versus what we see, hear or touch.
He adds, “The sense of smell is the most powerful and emotional of all senses. By using scent, brands are able to connect with consumers on a deeper emotional level, resulting in a more memorable experience.”
In addition to the atomizer diffuser, which is potable and battery operated, Our Aroma’s commercial diffusers are connected to the air vent of the store right after the fan. When the diffuser generates the oil droplets, the fan and air vents of the HVAC system distribute the scent throughout the store. Prior says the scent oils typically need to be replaced every three months. Customers can choose from 40,000-plus scents or Our Aroma can duplicate or create custom scents.
Nuts for coconutSean Fell, owner of Waterboyz Surf & Skate and the adjoining Cafe Single Fin in Pensacola, Florida, also uses a coconut scent in his business to give customers that beachy experience.
“We’re just trying to provide a well-rounded, all-senses experience,” Fell says of the decision to do scent marketing. He uses the coconut scented oil because “it reminds me of the summertime at the beach.”
While Waterboyz has been in business since 1989, the company is new when it comes to using scent. It’s only been using the diffuser for the last month.
 Flip Flop Shops Winter Garden uses scent. “I’m still trying to find the right spray schedule where it isn’t too much and not too little so we are still experimenting somewhat,” Fell says.
Lemon Vanilla is the scent of choice at Another Ride Surf Shop in Indian Harbour Beach, Florida. Owner Kelly Branagh says the scent is “a great favorite among many.”
“Customers remember and brag about how good it smells to friends and family bringing them back in the store,” she says.
According to Branagh, scent is important to the overall shopping experience because “you want customers to talk about a great experience with a great atmosphere. We smell something nice and the mind is triggered into a bliss for moments. Your mood will be better from leaving a scented, enjoyable place.”
While larger store chains like Abercrombie and Fitch and Nike have been pumping scents through their stores for years, small businesses are also catching a whiff of how marketing with scent can create a lasting impression with customers.
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