Investigating the role of scent markting on consumer emotions in the high-end fashion industry

This qualitative exploratory study investigates the role of scent marketing on consumer emotions in the South African high-end fashion industry. By using the Morse and Field approach to analysing qualitative data, I was able to determine the importance of scent marketing in a retail setting, the preferred scent of consumers in high-end fashion stores, and the influence of scent marketing on consumer emotions. In conclusion, scent marketing plays a crucial role in retail. Consumers prefer earthy scents (i.e. cedar wood, sandalwood and leather) in high-end fashion stores, and scent has both a positive and negative influence on emotions. Retailers can use scent marketing to attract consumers, increase browsing time, improve customer experience, elicit positive emotions, and increase sales. The study contributes to the theoretical and empirical literature on retail atmospherics and scent marketing by indicating how scent affects consumer emotions and how it contributes to the success of high-end fashion retailers.