Consumer Behavior

Consumer Behavior

Introduction

“Sensory Marketing” as “marketing that engages the consumers' senses and affects their perception, judgment and behavior.” From a managerial perspective, sensory marketing can be used to create subconscious triggers that characterize consumer perceptions of abstract notions of the product (e.g., its sophistication or quality). Given the gamut of explicit marketing appeals made to consumers every day, subconscious trigger which appeal to the basic senses may be a more efficient way to engage consumers. Also, these sensory triggers may result in consumers' selfgeneration of (desirable) brand attributes, rather than those verbally provided by the advertiser. The understanding of these sensory triggers implies an understanding of sensation and perception as it applies to consumer behavior this is the research perspective of sensory marketing.

Hershey's milk chocolate can be presented in a plain slab or as a Hershey's Kiss the two are identical in formula but have very different personalities (see Fig. 1 below). The Kiss is unfurled using it's “flag” akin to a present, it feels like a teardrop melting on the tongue, the individual wrapping of small pieces allows one to have several treats without guilt, the name makes one feel like one is being kissed all in all, a very indulgent experience; the slab is simple—basic chocolate made by a reputable company.

In Krishna (2010: 2), I define sensory marketing as “marketing that engages the consumers' senses and affects their behaviors.” This could even be broadened so that sensory marketing implies “marketing that engages the consumers' senses and affects their perception, judgment and behavior.” From a managerial perspective, sensory marketing can be used to create subconscious triggers that define consumer perceptions of abstract notions of the product (e.g., its sophistication, quality, elegance, innovativeness, modernity, interactivity) the brand's personality. It can also be used to affect the perceived quality of an abstract attribute like its color, taste, smell, or shape. According to Peck and Childers (2008), out of the 81 sensory studies in consumer behavior focusing on taste, touch, smell, and hearing, over one third have been published within the last 5 years. Clearly, sensory perception and sensory marketing is a growing field and there is much research yet to be done.

Discussion

The Swedish grocery retail chain, ICA Sverige AB, has recently decided to adopt more sensory labels for their produce section. They feel that more sensory labels (e.g., juicy oranges rather than Florida oranges; succulent seabass rather than seabass filet) would inspire their consumers to eat more food and vegetables. This move is wholeheartedly backed by the Swedish government (author's correspondence with Swedish Knowledge Foundation). In the U.S., many food manufacturers are emphasizing how their product appeals to the different senses. For instance, Lindt chocolate's recent ad discusses the art of chocolate tasting and tells the reader exactly how to employ all five senses in tasting their chocolate. Many upscale hotel chains have adopted signature scents with the hope that the scents will helps their customers better remember other features of their hotel that they loved, and bring them ...