Aroma is the ‘New Black’

ScentAir was featured in the July issue of Stores magazine, the official publication of the National Retail Federation, which follows retail trends and consumer habits. Their observation of the success of scent marketing thrust ScentAir into the spotlight, with a great article focusing on ScentAir’s relationship with Bloomingdales.

At Bloomingdale’s, holiday planning starts in May, with Dennis Dunn (the store’s visual merchandising director) and his staff sitting around a conference room table sniffing scent samples. With the array narrowed down to about eight scents, the smells are then worked into the overall theme of visuals and, as each presentation is assembled, the ScentAir canisters are strategically hidden.

Dunn will change out the scents midway through the holiday season, “so it’s a constant, updated fresh scent which makes the whole experience different.” The Manhattan Bloomingdale’s is a tourist destination in its own right and there’s a need to “create theater,” Dunn says. “That’s what we’re known for. By the time customers get to the sixth floor where the Christmas shops are, they are mesmerized.” And, for many of them, they want to take it all home with them, including the scent. “We get asked so often…if they can buy it,” he says.

Customers wishing to purchase a form of marketing may be the highest praise. And that’s exactly why Conroy believes scent marketing is here for the long haul. “The adoption of scent as a legitimate form of communications has been proven and now accepted [and] I expect it to become more ubiquitous across retailing in the years to come.”