ABSTRACT

EXAMINING CONSUMER PERCEPTIONS OF SCENT MARKETING IN MACAU'S RETAIL SETTING IS THE GOAL OF THIS STUDY. THE STUDY FOCUSES ON THE FOLLOWING TWO PRIMARY USES OF SCENT MARKETING IN RETAIL ENVIRONMENTS: SUBLIMINAL APPLICATION AND APPLICATION AS A COMPONENT OF BRANDING STRATEGY. QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODOLOGY IS USED. A TOTAL OF TEN CONSUMER INTERVIEWS PRODUCED THE DATA. THE FINDINGS SHOW THAT CONSUMERS ARE IN FAVOR OF SCENT MARKETING'S USE IN RETAIL SETTINGS. THE USE OF SCENT MARKETING AS A TOOL FOR ESTABLISHING BRANDS IS PREFERRED, AND CONSUMERS FIND THIS APPROACH TO SCENT MARKETING TO BE MORE ACCEPTABLE THAN ITS SUBLIMINAL APPLICATION. ALTHOUGH CONSUMERS BELIEVE THAT OTHER FACTORS, SUCH AS PRICE, ARE TYPICALLY MORE SIGNIFICANT THAN SCENT WHEN MAKING PURCHASES, THE USE OF SUBLIMINAL SCENTS WAS NOT ALWAYS EVALUATED NEGATIVELY. UNLESS OCCASIONALLY WHEN MAKING AN UNPLANNED PURCHASE, CONSUMERS DO NOT THINK THAT A SUBLIMINAL SCENT CAN SIGNIFICANTLY IMPACT THEIR PURCHASING BEHAVIOR