Selecting scent by Gender
Dr. Eric Spangenberg, dean of the college of business and economics at Washington State University, ran a test in a clothing store in the Pacific Northwest to determine how scent affected customers by gender . He diffused a subtle smell of vanilla in the women’s department and rose maroc (a spicy, honeylike fragrance that had tested well with guys) in the men’s. The results were astonishing. When he examined the cash-register tapes, he found that receipts almost doubled on the days when scent was used. However, if he reversed the scents, diffusing vanilla with the men, rose maroc with the women, customers spent less than average. “You can’t just use a pleasant scent and expect it to work,” he says. “It has to be congruent.” Similarly, he says, the fragrance has to make sense with the product or environment it’s supposed to enhance: “When you go into Starbucks, you don’t expect to smell lemon-scented Pledge.”
Excerpt from http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/97/brand-spirit.html
