What are the five human senses?Its applicability in shopper insights
Shoppers are known to use multiple senses in-store when shopping. In fact, it is impossible not to receive constant input from the nervous system through all 5 senses.
The brain decides which sensory data is relevant at that moment (short-term memory) or triggers emotional triggers (long-term memory), so shoppers can be influenced by each of the 5 senses or using a combination. Knowing which senses they use to buy what type of product is closely related to neuro-linguistic programming (NLP). The result is a combination of analytics related to the feelings shoppers use to shop and the feelings they use to mentally process information about a particular category, brand, or product.
1. visual shopping (sight)
95% of the information sent from the eyes to the brain is ignored.
- 70% of the information an in-store shopper receives is via visual cues
- Shoppers navigate visually by outline shape and contrast (shape/color)
- Only what is seen in foveal vision is processed into color
- Women’s peripheral vision is significantly wider than men’s
- Shoppers have a much better visual perception of what’s under the eyes than they are above the eyes
- When reading, shoppers scan parts of the text and “fill in the blanks” (up to 70%)
Targeting the visual sense offers brands and retailers the greatest opportunity for single-sensory impact. Mirrors slow shoppers down, tall and domineering fixtures (and banks) speed up shopping. Strong contrasting colors will attract more attention than muted shades. Shoppers can process images faster than any written description. Additionally, they can process images of the original unpackaged product faster than packaged product packaging.
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In a strongly repetitive buying environment, the things shoppers tend to look at and mentally process are those that change frequently, such as lottery details and newsstands. Instead, long-term POS filtered over a few days is nothing more than “wallpaper.” In the clip below, the eye-tracking clip demonstrates what a shopper sees in the aisle.
2. auditory shopping (sound)
Influencing what shoppers hear in-store can provide important sales opportunities.
- Playing classical music compared to pop increased sales by 26%
- The same process increases the value of the average wine purchase by 40%
- Subtly slowing down familiar music by 6% increases time spent in store by 12%
- At the same time, spending at that store increased by 18%
- Affirmative ‘good choice’ audio message at purchase leads to double-digit sales growth
Audience targeting shoppers works best if multi-sensory activities are developed. For example, after leaving a store, shoppers recall 15 percent of what they have read, rising to 20 percent if they see and hear the same information at the same time. However, if the written and spoken information are distinct but complementary, the recall jumps to around 70%.
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When using NLP as part of a shopping behavior research analysis, it is possible to identify the feelings shoppers rely on most when purchasing a category. The results are often surprising: MP3 players are visible, as are cell phone and computer speakers. The new car is actually visually and audibly processed. In the video below, even when shoppers buy products that rely on auditory quality, many simply use visual cues.
3. Smell shopping (smell)
As many as 30% of shoppers smell a product before making a purchase.
- Smell is the only sense that goes unprocessed when it enters the limbic system (the part of the brain thought to regulate emotions)
- In-store aromas can powerfully link brands to their use and consumption occasions
- Humans can recognize about 10,000 different scents
- Shoppers tend to process scent information based on the type of product they buy (trainers in sports stores, fine French cheeses in deli, etc.)
- Smell (mostly unconscious) is important in functions such as sexual preference and identifying others
Influencing shoppers through olfactory stimuli has been shown to be an effective but subtle form of communication. The smell of fresh bread in a supermarket, freshly mowed grass in a sporting goods store, the latest perfume wafting from a duty-free trolley on an airplane are all examples of conscious attempts to influence the subconscious mind of shoppers. Regarding targeting this feeling, it is important to provide the shopper with context so that they take away the expected positive emotional association, rather than any unforeseen negative emotions.
E.g…
In the beauty category, when 20% to 30% of shoppers smell a product when evaluating it, it’s always surprising that some brands are preventing this trigger purchase by sealing their packaging. Another olfactory consideration is what the general scent is in that part of the store. Whether it helps or hinders sales (no strong curry smell in the lingerie department!) See below for a few shoppers who clearly use scent as part of their product selection process.
4. touch shopping (touch)
Shoppers associate the quality of the item they are viewing with their feel.
- Physical texture, weight and even temperature are used by shoppers to evaluate products
- The most sensitive parts of your body are your hands, lips, face, neck, tongue, fingertips and feet
- The least sensitive part of the body is the middle of the back
- Shivering is your body’s way of trying to warm up
While the other four senses (sight, hearing, smell, and taste) are located in specific parts of the body, your sense of touch is everywhere. This means there are many ways to impact shoppers: softer soles feel slow them down, cooler and harder surfaces speed them up… Let shoppers compare the quality of 2 phones (1 with battery, 1 without battery) and heavier almost every time. Haptics is a sense that is exploited in some market segments and completely unknown in others. Because tactile effects can be generated from many parts of the body, the potential (both positive and negative) should not be ignored.
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In a very subtle example of using touch to help trigger sales, shoppers are encouraged to feel home products on specific fixtures. Unbeknownst to them, the area around the light fixture also has very soft floor coverings, which subconsciously enhances their overall perception of the softness and quality attributes of that particular brand. In the clip below, watch how many shoppers place a premium on being able to touch products.
5. taste shopping (taste)
Taste is the weakest of the five senses, so we need multisensory marketing in-store.
- The tongue (and palate) has 3 distinct areas: bitter, sour, and salty/sweet
- We have nearly 10,000 taste buds in our mouths, on our tongues, and even on our palate
- Generally speaking, women have more taste buds than men
There are limited opportunities to use taste to influence shoppers. For example, familiar tastings in supermarkets are a way to introduce shoppers to new products. More subtle are the types of taste tests that entice shoppers to buy more afterward. When a toffee store offered free samples to passersby, it failed. Unfortunately, they had walked about 300 yards from the store when they managed to eat the freebie, hehe!
E.g…
In order to create a sense of taste in a shopper’s mouth, they don’t have to actually absorb any food. Research has shown that they can be made drooling and hungry by using effective visuals supported by thought-provoking explanatory text (dual-encoding taste information). See below for a great example of what’s a little more than stealing! However, it’s surprisingly common practice in the pick ‘n’ mix aisle.
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