Forget the Smell of Books: Chocolate Is Merchandising Key

Shelf Awareness

Researchers in Belgium have discovered "the enticing aroma of chocolate inspired bookstore shoppers to stick around longer," Pacific Standard reported, noting that shoppers "are more likely to engage in leisurely browsing--and ultimately purchase books in certain popular genres, including romance novels--if the store is infused with the scent of chocolate."
According to an article in the Journal of Environmental Psychology, the research team conducted a 10-day experiment in a Belgian general-interest bookstore and discovered that retailers "can make use of pleasant ambient scents to improve the store environment, leading consumers to explore the store.... customers were 2.22 times more likely to closely examine multiple books when the chocolate scent was present in the store, compared with the control condition."

The chocolate-fueled study prompted the researchers advise retailers that they "can make use of pleasant ambient scents to improve the store environment, leading consumers to explore the store."