Albertsons ushers in scent marketing in hopes shoppers stop, smell, then buy cream cheese

Dive Brief:

Customers at select Albertsons-owned grocery stores in the Chicago and New Jersey areas will be able to have a "sensory grocery experience" where they can smell baked cheesecake as they walk the aisles, according to Kraft Heinz.
For a limited time this Easter season, the stores will use scented diffusers to pump in the aroma around coolers filled with Philadelphia Cream Cheese, according to an emailed announcement.
By pumping in the smell of baked cheesecake, Kraft Heinz said it hopes to inspire baking around the Easter holiday, according to an emailed announcement.

Dive Insight:

For Albertsons, the activation with Kraft will provide insight into whether or how customers respond to scent marketing by loading up their carts with cream cheese.

“By incorporating a warm aroma into the in-store promotions, Philadelphia is hoping to disrupt the typical shopping behavior and encourage purchase,” the announcement said, noting more than 6.6 million bricks of Philadelphia Cream Cheese are sold during spring, with cheesecakes made during the Easter season helping drive sales.

The test with Albertsons will help Kraft determine if the activation was effective and worth rolling out nationwide, according to the manufacturer. The company did not say exactly how long the sensory experience will last or when it starts and ends this Easter season.

The announcement noted sensory experience marketing tends to be more common in retailers and restaurants, like Abercrombie and Starbucks. But other grocers have dabbled in scent marketing. In 2011, CBS News profiled a Net Cost supermarket in Brooklyn, New York, that used five machines to pump out scents like chocolate in the candy aisle, rosemary focaccia near the bakery and grapefruit in the produce department.

As grocers look to boost advertising dollars from suppliers, they're turning to new, interactive formats for in-store shoppers. Retailers like Hy-Vee are broadcasting targeted audio ads in their stores, while Giant Food stores in the Washington, D.C., area are adding interactive endcaps in the beauty section that play videos about different products as shoppers touch them.

More recently, companies that specialize in digital olfaction said they are working to make their tech available to retailers and brands to use for product development and to combat food waste.