How Sensory Marketing Leads to a More Immersive Shopping Experience

Sensory marketing involves stimulating the senses of your customer, which affects their perception, judgement, and behavior. Engaging more than one of their senses can create an even more immersive shopping experience.

Here are a few ways to utilize sensory marketing in your business:

Sight

Create visually exciting displays that show off your merchandise. Consider not only how the product is displayed, but also what about the product you want the customer to notice and what kinds of fixtures it’s displayed on. Every piece of product or equipment in your store will play a role in your customer’s visual experience.

Another thing to consider regarding sight is your lighting. Does your color temperature match your store environment? A whiter light will look crisp and modern. A warmer light will have a softer, more home like feel.

Is the lighting the same throughout the store or are you placing attention on certain displays with spot lighting? How does your lighting highlight your merchandise?

Take note of how the lighting impacts vision of the goods through the window during both day and night. During the day, the sun will cause a mirror effect with the storefront window and reflect a person’s image back at them instead of showing off your display.

Smell

Use a scent in your store that compliments your products. Perhaps a scent that will invoke a memory or essence of an era.

If you’re a restaurant, brewery, or bakery, the scents will automatically fill your space. If you sell candles or other scented goods, use your products to fill the space with one of your signature scents. Be careful here, though, not to overwhelm people with too many smells.

Sound

Choosing the appropriate soundtrack for your sales floor is key. You will want the music to match the ambiance of your store but not distract your customers from their shopping. Set the mood of your customers with the tunes you select.

Taste

If possible, offer samples of any food or beverage items that you sell. Not only does this engage your customer’s senses, it introduces them to your product and offers an interactive shopping experience.

Touch

Utilize texture throughout your store. Consider the handles of your shopping baskets, the chairs in your fitting rooms, or the finish on your fixtures. Make sure your displays are easy to grab product off of so that people can feel things in their hands. (This may be a bit different during the pandemic, of course. Use your best judgement on touch at this time.)

To learn more about sensory marketing, read this introductory article. If you want to read about sensory applications in retail, visit this article.