Information Technology Reference
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And what do these have to do with luxury online? This breakthrough gives a
small glimpse of the enormous possibilities that luxury brands have in gaining
substantial “mind share” of the consumer both online and offline. Just as it is
possible to influence the mind and body using subliminal sound, it is also pos-
sible to create emotions, perceptions and actions in favor (and also disfavor) of
a luxury brand!
Scent
Scent, fragrance, odor or however you may prefer to qualify that which is
assimilated through the sense of smell is innately personal. It is linked to an
individual's preferences, personality, mood, feelings and emotions. These fac-
tors already pre-exist before the scent choices are made although scent can
also influence mood, feelings and emotions. Scent is also one of the human
senses that have the strongest emotional and nostalgic effect on people.
Have you ever walked down the street and perceived a scent that triggered a
memory in your mind? Or met someone whose scent reminded you of
someone else? Or worse still perceived an odor that you associate with an
unpleasant past experience? Well, if you have then you must know what I'm
talking about. The fact is that the human sense of smell is often underesti-
mated although it is the sensory element with the strongest element of pre-
determination. For example, if your preferred scent is musk or vanilla, you are
more likely to purchase a musk or vanilla-based fragrance than one made with
scent notes of lavender. Scent also has a strong nostalgic factor, which makes
it the human sense that triggers the highest probability of repeat purchases.
In offline retail, scent is used to evoke specific feelings that ultimately
lead to probable purchase because scent can easily be recalled. For exam-
ple, the scent of fig trees in a retail store during the Christmas season is a
reminder of the need to shop for presents. Retail stores also use certain fra-
grances that are aimed at calming the mind and subsequently relaxing the
body to encourage lingering in the store for long periods, at crucial times.
Scents that accelerate adrenalin, like ginseng, could also be used to get
shoppers excited, particularly in relation to in-store events or new product
launches. For example, a shot of camomile or violet in a store could induce
either calmness or enthusiasm.
In the online environment, it may seem impossible to take advantage of
the sensory elements linked to scent but scent-based products such as per-
fumes and fragrances actually belong to the group of luxury products that are
the most frequently purchased sensory goods online. This is because scent
can also be easily recalled and the affiliation with a particular scent is hardly
outgrown. Selling scent online, however, remains challenging. The trans-
fer of the scent element to the online environment may seem impossible but
the advancement of digital and information technology, has introduced appli-
cations that enable overcoming these challenges. One such development is a
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