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| | The Truth Seekers Network is not currently active and cannot accept new posts | | Suddenly spending more? Do you smell cookies? | Views: 399 | | Jan 10, 2008 6:15 am | | Suddenly spending more? Do you smell cookies? | # | 
Danielle (Dani) Cutler | |
Cookie aroma could spur shoppers to spend more: study
Last Updated: Wednesday, January 9, 2008 | 4:00 PM ET
CBC News
The mere whiff of a chocolate chip cookie can cause a shopper to stray off-course, abandoning their budget for unplanned, impulse purchases, according to a study on consumer behaviour.
The study, published in the February issue of the Journal of Consumer Research, suggests stimuli that trigger the appetite can cause consumers to opt for immediate pleasures.
"We found that an appetitive stimulus not only affects behaviour in a specific behaviour domain but induces a shared state that propels a consumer to choose smaller-sooner options in unrelated domains," said researcher Xiuping Li, of the National University of Singapore, in the study.
"The findings demonstrated that an appetitive stimulus could induce a general motivational state, called the hot state, which focuses one's attention on the immediate environment."
Two tests involving students at the University of Toronto were conducted. In the first study, participants were asked to select photographs of either food or nature for use in a magazine. Researchers later asked participants if they would prefer playing a lottery that pays out a lower amount sooner or one that pays a higher amount at a later date.
The study found that those who were shown the photos of food were nearly 20 percentage points more likely to select the lottery with the smaller jackpot.
In a second test, researchers found that 67 per cent of women assigned to a room with a hidden cookie-scented candle were more likely to make an impulse sweater purchase, even when told they were on a strict budget. By comparison, only 17 per cent of women in a room without the scented candle decided to make the impulse buy.
The stimulus prompted participants to lose sight of future goals, focusing instead on the present, the study said.
"The scent of the appetitive stimulus led to reduced happiness with remote gains, which implied that participants in a present-oriented state were less sensitive to future values," the study said.
Li noted that retailers might use the findings to create an atmosphere that would entice shoppers to stay longer.
"If retailers want to push their customers to shop more rather than stay longer, they should not only maintain a pleasant environment but also an environment full of temptations and excitement," Li said in a release.
http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/story/2008/01/09/consumer-behaviour.html?ref=rss
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