Smells like shopping

David Pescovitz 1:56 pm Mon Nov 26, 2012

Expect America's malls to soon become orange-scented. A new study by Washington State University researchers suggests that "simple scents" — they tested orange — can stimulate a bump in retail sales. This is compared to no smell or "complex scents" like an orange-basil-green tea blend used in this study. From WSU:

The researchers say the (simple) scent is more easily processed, freeing the customer’s mind to focus on shopping. But when that "bandwidth” is unavailable customers don’t perform cognitive tasks as effectively, says (Eric) Spangenberg, (dean of the College of Business)…

"WSU researchers tie simple scent to increased retail sales"

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