The Signal Function of Thematically (In) congruent Ambient cents in a Retail Environment

摘要

An odor emitted by an object signals the presence of that object and may draw attention to it. Can odors that are not actually emitted by an object also function as a signal? We investigayted whether the degree of thematic congruency between an ambient odor and a magazine affected magazine sales in a retail store. We selected two odors: a grass odor, congruent with soccer, animalature and gardening magazines; and a sunflower odor, congruent with personal care and women's magazines. In a field study in three bookstores, the ambient odors did not increase sales for thematically congruent magazines, nor did they decrease sales for incongruent magazines. Several explanations for these unexpected findings are discussed.