Abstract

COSTA, André Luiz Carvalho Nunes da  and  FARIAS, Salomão Alencar de. Ambient scent and its relationship with consumer evaluations and intentions in retail. Rev. adm. empres. [online]. 2011, vol.51, n.6, pp. 528-541. ISSN 0034-7590.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0034-75902011000600003.

The atmosphere of a store can be used to produce specific emotions that enhance purchase probability, and the ambient scent, artificially added, is among its dimensions. This article investigates the relationship between the presence of an ambient scent in a retail store, and customers' evaluation of the store, its environment and products, as well as the behavioral intentions related to return and time spent in the store. The research design included an exploratory stage, examination of publications in the fields of physiology, psychology and consumer behavior, to provide the conceptual background and to formulate research hypothesis; and a causal stage, quasi-experiment, to verify the effects of scent presence. Semantic differential scales were employed for data collection. Descriptive statistics and hypothesis test were performed for data analysis and the results revealed that the scent presence did not improve the evaluations or the intent to return but retained the consumer longer in the store.

Keywords : Retail; store atmosphere; scent; olfaction; consumer behavior.