Fragrances effects on body, mind and soul as a stimulant has been known for a along time.Fragrances inspire the fantasy, kindle emotions and can be crucial for the wellbeing. The consideration of scental stimulations in the case of strategic POS-design implies not alone controlling and disabling unpleasant smells but also the purposeful application of fragrances to create a positive sensual climate in a store.

Fragrances used as atmosphere inducing Media offer a variety of creative, unmistakeable and succinct POS design scenarios, which largely can support establishing an individual POS-profile.

Field surveys on the assessment of the indoor air-quality indicate that unpleasant smells originating from persons as well as from the room itself and it´s furniture can lead to negative feelings for the persons in the room. There are accumulative demands that beside the elimination of the so called Sick-Building-Syndrome persons in a room shall discern the air as fresh and pleasant instead of flat and frowsy to improve the assessed Indoor-Air-Quality. There are, however, fragrances which can affect the human in a positive way. If used at the POS they can improve the assessed indoor-air-quality. Studies show that the application of suitable fragrances can significantly improve the assessed indoor-air-quality.

How do we scent?

The scent´s significance can be explained by physiologic aspects:
Incepted fragrance molecules directly trigger reactions in the brain because the scental nerves are in direct contact with the limbic system. The limbic system, the brain´s central controlling unit, controls the autonomic nervous system which controls the most important body processes by itself. In the limbic system feelings and aims are coordinated, dullness or delight arise, decisions between affection and aversion are made. The existance of nervous centers located in the limbic system indicates that theres is a close connection, anatomic as well as physiologic, between emotions and associative, transactive and reminding processes triggered by scental stimulation.

Therefore, the perception of fragrances plays a major role in the relationship between a person an his/her environment. Environmental psychology deals with the physical environment´s influence (colors, figuration, sounds and fragrances) on human behaviour . According to environmental psychology´s knowledge this influence is determined by to what extend a stimulating perception is triggered by the environment. This influence decides on whether a customer feels attraction or aversion towards a commercial environment which leads to an influence on customer´s preferences to certain stores or products.

What kind of persons prefer a sensual environment?

The air in stores is often assessed as being stagnant. In particular customers who are especially sensitive to joyful sensual stimulations, seeking alternation, animation, stimulation and inspiration during the purchase pay special attention to atmospheric POS components. In shops they notice the air´s scental quality and prefer shops with an appealing smell. Further research showed that scental stimulation at the POS adequate to the specific target group can significantly improve the customer´s emotional comfort.

Pleasant scental stimulation improves the POS´s as well as the assortment´s perception. In addition it improves the ability to approach a product, the time customers adjourn at the POS and their intention to return. Futhermore, a increase in sales has been stated.

Fragrances Adequate to the Target Group

A conveniant scental environment at the POS can significantly increase the customer´s wellbeing. Customers percieve fragrances more subconscious than conscious. Fragrances can bring persons in a pleasant mood which leads to evoking positive results because according to scientific cognition felicitous decision and evaluation processes can be influenced and prognosticated selectively.

In face of their fast conceivability and better memorization compared to visual signals scental stimulations have the advantage that they are not alone stimulating but also that they can provide conditions for an intensive and capacious mediation of events.

Fragrances can have influence selectively

Fragrances application at the POS can have a selective influence on capacitance and evaluation as well as on events memorization. This is also reflected in the preferences.A purely optical appealing showroom gains quality if the customer feels attracted by an appealing fragrance and then readily sojourns in the showroom as long as the fragrances are perceived in an adequate concentration.

On the other hand, if scental stimulations are assessed as being to bothersome, intensive or unadequate to the business situation they can rather lead to a deterioration of the customer´s mood which negatively affects the decision and evaluation processes. The application environment´s peculiarities and the target group´s preferences must also be taken into consideration. Alike, the technical realization´s planning is a relevant ambit, for the application of fragrances should be continous and in quantities just above the limits of perception.

Customers link feelings and associations evoked by a fragrance with the POS only to the extend they perceive a POS fragrance as a constituent part of a POS

Fragrances are invisible sales professionals

It is possible to put the desired mediation of experience into words to realize the desired communicative mediation of experience and the POS´s scental positioning. Fragrance compositions can be made according to rational concepts and are on priciple composed of three constituents: The head note (also called top) is the first impression of a fragrance where aerial substances dominate. Aldehydic and citric acid aromes like citric oils, basil, nerol and eucalyptus rate among the head note. The heart note (also called bouquet or central note) develops later after the areial substances lost their prevailing influence. It is the medium vaporization stadium´s characteristic note. Heart notes often compose of rose, carnation or jasmine fragrances. The basic note ( also called bass note or fond) is dominated by the less ephemeral scental subtances which remain up to the last stage. Zibet, musk and ambergris but also many resins and wood (sandalwood) form the basic note

As fragrances can be drafted and applicated adequate to the situation, fragrances as component of POS design have a special importance. It is a question of fragrances inserted in a purposeful manner. Too many fragrances as well as fragrances applicated too intensive are perceived as obstrusive and trying and may trigger resistance in the customer. A supposition for perception and finally for the sensual mediation is an adequate concentration of fragrances. Beside the aspect of intensity the aspect of quality has to be accounted for. It is neccessary to choose target group specific scental stimulations for scents can cause affection or aversion.

With the apropriate choice of scents emotional experiences can be mediated, which improves not only the quality of shopping, but the quality of the whole life. Using scents as bearer of experience an emotional relationship towards the assortment and -seen in the long-term- towards the store could be established. The improvement of the wellbeing causes the showroom to be perceived as an experience. The goal of increasing the customer´s content which has effects on the customer´s fidelity benefits.