Distribution channels for scented products rarely interact. Consumers either smell and buy scented products in store or purchase them online without smelling. Such channel isolation is inefficient. To achieve synergies, we propose a new omnichannel strategy, rooted in the neurobiology of olfaction, unique to scented products. The key is to design product packages (i.e., scent names and artwork) that stimulate consumers' imagination, or olfactory imagery, aiming to maximize curiosity and intent to try. Unlike extant omnichannel strategies deployed at the retail phase, our recommendations are at the product design phase where the scented product package is the strategy.
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Hua (Meg) Meng
Longwood University
Hua (Meg) Meng (Ph.D., Kent State University) is an Assistant Professor of Marketing in the College of Business and Economics at Longwood University. Meng's research interests include sensory marketing, fashion marketing, and new product development and promotion. She...
César Zamudio
Virginia Commonwealth University
César Zamudio (B.A. Marketing, summa cum laude, Tecnológico de Monterrey, Campus Monterrey, México; Ph.D., Management Science (Marketing), The University of Texas at Dallas) is an expert in marketing analytics and empirical modeling at Virginia Commonwealth University...
Robert D. Jewell
Kent State University
Dr. Robert D. Jewell is Professor in the Department of Marketing and Entrepreneurship at Kent State University. Dr. Jewell's research interests include consumer behavior, information processing, branding, positioning, and advertising. He has published articles on these...
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