Why Scent is the Most Overlooked Branding Tool in Marketing—And How It Shapes Consumer Behavior

What if I told you there’s a branding tool that luxury hotels, high-end retailers, and even airlines use—one that can increase sales, build stronger customer connections, and make your business unforgettable?

That tool is scent.

Scent doesn’t just make products smell good—it shapes perception, creates emotional connections, and even influences purchasing decisions at a subconscious level. It’s no coincidence that luxury hotels, high-end fashion houses, and even hospitals invest in signature scents designed to evoke trust, comfort, and exclusivity.

But why does scent matter so much to the brain? And how can businesses strategically use it to build brand identity, enhance customer experience, and drive sales?

For research mentioned in the article, please see references section at the end.

The Science of Scent: How Smell Shapes Buying Decisions

The olfactory system - how we perceive and process scents - is unique.

Unlike most sensory information that is processed through the thalamus before reaching the brain’s emotional and decision-making centers, scent follows a direct neural pathway.

Smells travel straight from the olfactory bulb to the limbic system, the part of the brain responsible for emotion, memory, and subconscious decision-making.

This unique and unfiltered access is why scent triggers memories and emotions faster than any other sense.

Research also shows that the right scent in a retail setting can increase sales by double digits, with some studies reporting boosts as high as 40% in certain store environments, demonstrating how subconscious fragrance reactions influence spending habits.

But scent doesn’t just impact memory—it can trigger immediate physiological and psychological responses. Certain scents have been shown to:

• Lower cortisol levels, reducing stress and anxiety.
• Influence heart rate and blood pressure, promoting relaxation or alertness.
• Enhance cognitive function, improving focus, reaction time, and mood.

This ability to subconsciously influence behavior and emotions makes scent one of the most powerful—and most underutilized—branding tools.

How Scent Influences Consumer Behavior

If emotion drives purchasing behavior, and scent is the fastest way to trigger emotion, then businesses that ignore fragrance as part of their brand identity are leaving money on the table.

Here’s how scent influences consumer behavior in ways most people don’t realize:

1. It Creates Instant Brand Recognition

Just like Tiffany’s robin-egg blue or McDonald’s golden arches, signature scents create a recognizable, emotional association with a brand. However, studies suggest that scent-related memories are significantly more persistent than visual memories, with some research showing recall rates of over 65% after a year, compared to 50% for visual recall after a few months.

2. It Enhances Perceived Value

Studies have demonstrated that introducing a pleasant ambient scent in a retail environment can positively influence customers' perceptions of product quality, even when the scent is unrelated to the products being sold. For instance, research has shown that the presence of a warm ambient scent, such as vanilla, can nudge consumers to favor premium products over non-premium ones. This effect occurs because warm scents can evoke feelings of comfort and luxury, leading customers to associate these feelings with the products in the environment, thereby enhancing their perceived value.

3. It Affects How Long People Stay and Spend

Retailers and hospitality brands strategically use scent to make customers feel more comfortable, subtly increasing dwell time and spending.

4. It Can Influence Mood and Productivity

Certain scents have been proven to increase alertness, relaxation, or focus, which is why high-end wellness brands, including neurocosmetics company MOOD Skin Care, incorporate aromatherapy into their offerings.

Case Study: Singapore Airlines’ Signature Scent Strategy

One of the most successful examples of olfactory branding is Singapore Airlines. The airline created a custom scent—a blend of rose, lavender, and citrus—and infused it into everything from flight attendants’ uniforms to the hot towels offered to passengers.

The results? Passengers subconsciously associated the signature scent with the luxury and hospitality of Singapore Airlines. Over time, this fragrance became as recognizable as a logo or jingle—a silent brand signature that evoked trust, familiarity, and exclusivity every time passengers stepped onto a plane.

Singapore Airlines isn’t alone.

• Luxury hotels like The Ritz-Carlton infuse custom fragrances into their lobbies, ensuring that guests associate their stay with a distinctive scent long after they’ve left.
• Retail brands like Abercrombie & Fitch famously pumped their signature fragrance throughout stores, reinforcing their youthful, high-energy brand identity.

Scent is a branding tool that works on a subconscious level—but too few brands leverage its full power.

Scent Branding: Enhancing Customer Experience and Sales

Scent branding isn’t just about making a space smell pleasant—it’s about shaping customer perception, behavior, and experience. Brands that use strategic scent marketing see benefits like:

• Stronger brand recall – Customers remember brands with distinctive scents.
• Higher perceived value – A pleasant, signature fragrance makes products feel premium.
• Longer customer engagement – A well-designed scent increases dwell time.
• Improved emotional connection – Scent enhances positive brand associations.

Industries from hospitality to healthcare to automotive are now leveraging scent to increase sales and customer satisfaction.

Beyond Scent Marketing: How Neurocosmetics Elevate Skincare with Aromatherapy

Scent is not just a marketing tool—it has a profound impact on stress levels, mood, and cognitive function. Certain botanical extracts have been shown to naturally regulate stress hormones, enhance relaxation, and evoke specific emotions - a fact brands should also consider when selecting their signature scent.

One of the reasons I started MOOD Skin Care—beyond my 15+ years in marketing aesthetics and love for all things neuro—was the direct benefits I experienced from aromatherapy. As a neurodivergent individual diagnosed with AuADHD in my third decade of life, I’ve adapted and thrived by building an extensive set of tools before I knew there was a name for my experience of life.

From knitting to LEGOs to collecting every shade of Sharpie, aromatherapy has been a powerful and consistent anchor, helping me regulate focus, process sensory overload and achieve emotional balance.

At MOOD Skin Care, we harness these benefits by incorporating therapeutic-grade essential oils that support both psychological well-being and skin health:

• Clementine Oil – Known for its uplifting and energizing effects, clementine oil helps reduce mental fatigue and improve mood. It also provides antioxidants that protect and brighten the skin.
• Lavender Oil – Extensively studied for its calming and stress-reducing properties, lavender oil promotes relaxation, alleviates tension, and lowers stress levels. In skincare, it soothes irritation and supports skin healing.

Unlike some brands that rely on synthetic fragrances, MOOD Skin Care is committed to clean, functional scent sources that actively enhance mental well-being while providing tangible skincare benefits.

The Future of Scent Marketing

Brands are just beginning to tap into scent’s potential as a subconscious marketing tool. The future of fragrance marketing goes beyond perfumes and retail stores—it’s entering beauty, technology, and even digital experiences in ways we haven’t seen before.

What’s next?

• Scent-Driven Digital Experiences – Researchers are developing scent-based VR and AR experiences that enhance emotional connection in virtual spaces.
• Customized Fragrance Marketing – Brands will use AI-driven consumer profiling to create personalized scent experiences tailored to individual preferences.
• Neurocosmetic Advancements – As beauty and neuroscience continue to merge, we’ll see an increase in functional fragrances designed to influence brain chemistry in real time.

Scent is more than just a branding afterthought—it’s a scientifically proven tool for emotional engagement, memory formation, and consumer influence.

Next time you're in a luxury store, hotel or even an apartment building lobby, consider the scent - is there any? What emotions does it evoke? How does it make you feel?

References

1. Lichters, M., Adler, S., & Sarstedt, M. (2020). Warm Ambient Scents Nudge Consumers to Favour Premium Brands and Right-Wing Parties. Marketing: ZFP – Journal of Research and Management, 42(4), 22–34. https://www.jstor.org/stable/27141487
2. Herz R. S. (2004). A naturalistic analysis of autobiographical memories triggered by olfactory visual and auditory stimuli. Chemical senses, 29(3), 217–224. https://doi.org/10.1093/chemse/bjh025
3. Krishna, A. (2012). An integrative review of sensory marketing: Engaging the senses to affect perception, judgment and behavior. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 22(3), 332–351. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcps.2011.08.003
4. Spangenberg, E. R., Crowley, A. E., & Henderson, P. W. (1996). Improving the store environment: Do olfactory cues affect evaluations and behaviors? Journal of Marketing, 60(2), 67–80. https://doi.org/10.2307/1251931
5. Moss, M., Hewitt, S., Moss, L., & Wesnes, K. (2008). Modulation of cognitive performance and mood by aromas of peppermint and ylang-ylang. The International journal of neuroscience, 118(1), 59–77. https://doi.org/10.1080/00207450601042094