Luxury shopping malls and scent advertising

Harrods was one of the first to embrace the power of scent marketing. It diffuses individually composed fragrances throughout its shopping centers, influencing all of its customers' senses to enhance the consumer experience and improve their well-being. The fame of aroma marketing first spread to the United States. It was only a matter of time before it reached the UK. Harrods – the most recognizable shopping mall for luxury clothing and fashion accessories – still serves as an example for those just beginning their adventure with aromatherapy. Working with a company specializing in scent marketing , they deployed a wide range of aromas throughout their stores. The priority was to evoke pleasant shopping experiences in customers and evoke positive memories of the place .

A scent marketing phenomenon

Drawing on aroma marketing seems strongly justified. Why? Smell is a highly emotional sense. It affects us more intensely than sight or hearing—as much as 75% . This is because scents bypass the pragmatic part of the brain and go straight to the limbic system, the part of the brain that controls our behavior and emotions . In other words, scents immediately trigger positive or negative emotional states. This, in turn, influences our spending behavior.

Fragrance palette

Harrods focused on diversity. A wide range of scents wafted through various departments in the mall:

• the women's swimwear section smelled of coconut oil,
• the garden part was filled with the smell of freshly cut grass,
• the scent of pomegranate wafted through the luxury accessories area,
• The shop guides, receipts and some of the entrances smelled of uplifting lime and basil.

Harrods' ingenuity

Harrods customers were treated to yet another attraction: an exhibition titled "Lifted." During the exhibition, everyone had the opportunity to "sample" 12 different fragrances. The exhibition's location was unique: it took place in an elevator, a first for the world.