Does the scent of a business play with your nose and wallet?: The Saturday weekend review #73

WHAT SMELLS SO GOOD?

Have you ever wanted to eat something so bad simply because you smelled it in the air?  It may be your neighbour who has the BBQ filled with steak or it could be walking through a store and a scent fills the air and guides you to the source.

You know that you’ve had your nose guide in the direction of the food because the aroma of something you fancy doesn’t take long to entice you to want it.

I’m not sure if it’s all in our heads but if we like something most people gravitate towards it. The spices that we use to flavour food and other products can easily capture your senses without you even knowing what’s going on.

It’s not always food either.

Mrs.CBB an I think that Yankee candles have some of the best scented candles around and they know the minute the customer smells the scent they are apt to want to buy it. It’s true the scent is mind-boggling and it’s hard to get my wife away from them.

I’m almost sure she’s going to ask for a spoon most times and I cringe if we see a Yankee candle store because I know we are going to be in there for a while smelling candles, lol. So it’s not only food shops using scent to lure you to buy.

Let your nose guide you

I was not shocked to read what food reporter Sarah Nassauer for The Wall Street Journal uncovered about retailers battling for your wallet with your nose. Stores are relying on smell more than ever now to lure the customers in and motivate them to make purchases in store.

Not only do they guide you through the door the fragrances aim to keep you in the store shopping. That’s how it works on me at least, lol. Aromas are money in their pockets as long as you follow through by spending money. Hopefully not money you haven’t budgeted for but as well all know many people become shopoholics because they love to spend and adding aromas to the mix doesn’t help the cause.

A while back I mentioned we were shopping in Staples when this coffee aroma came out of nowhere. I was completely shocked and thought I was hallucinating. I love coffee and tea you see so when I can smell it, I want it. How could I be smelling coffee in a Staples store?

Sure enough the cashier confirmed that not only do they sell coffee but she pointed up a beam in the store that held an aroma diffuser which she said released the smell of coffee every so often. Some coffee brands are so potent that you can smell them from a mile away. At the checkout they have a sign marketing the coffee they sell, brilliant if you ask me.

Smell that scent

Food sells and everyone knows it. People sit in front of the Food Network every day and dream of eating the food they share in the programs.

When out and about shopping fast food is a huge seller to the masses. How many times have you said, “Wow, I can smell Kentucky Fried Chicken” and wanted it or something else that appeals to you. I’ve smelled steak in the air from The Keg or bacon from a breakfast dive in the centre of town and it’s hard to turn away.

What about when you are at community gatherings and all you smell is the french fry food trucks, burgers and all sorts of food being cooked up. Is it that easy for you to keep your hands away from your wallet? I’m sure the smell of food and money are team players.

The article also mentioned that places like Cinnabon put their ovens in the front so the smell of those heaven scent cinnamon buns fills the air. You all know what I’m talking about if you’ve walked in the vicinity of a Cinnabon store.

Apparently there are mall rules though when it comes to how much aroma can be released. Oddly enough I believe you can buy Airwick Cinnabon scented plugins now for your home.

Now the sweet smell of food from your plug-in might encourage you to stay home and cook. Think of the advantages of purchasing a few if you are a big spender on eating out during the week, haha!

Seriously though, how do you control that without simply venting it outside the mall? Who would want to anyways, yum? It makes sense though how popular clothing stores might not want this near their shop because the scent of food on clothing isn’t a huge seller.

Then again some people might get turned on by the scent of cinnamon on their clothes. I’m sure there is a perfume or cologne out there with hints of cinnamon in the scientific mix.

You might also notice walking by Bath and Body Works or The Body Shop to see sample displays right outside the front door in the mall. You can certainly smell soap fragrances when you walk by, at least I can.

This is all part of the marketing lure to get the customer in the door and start emptying out their wallet.  There is no difference having reps standing outside a shop offering free samples of products to potential customers or those food sample booths at the grocery store. You will make your way to the sample rep just to see what’s being cooked up or at least look for coupons.

Scents aren’t for everyone

Although most smells appeal to the masses there are customers out there that really could care-less to smell such powerful odours in the air. One may be sensitive to smells where another simply can’t stand a smell. If a clothing store has the smell of their signature perfume and cologne in the air they may actually turn customers away, especially those with allergies.

I know when we walk into a grocery store immediately we gravitate towards the bakery and fresh cooked foods like the roasted chicken, potato wedges, pasta salads and pizza station. You can’t help but smell this food and it makes you hungry.

I don’t know if they use anything fancy such as fans to blow the scent into the grocery store for the customers to smell but it sure does play with my nose.

Just last week in Wal-mart the wife and I both smelled something delicious and we were starving and we literally went looking for that smell. I hate to admit it, but it works although we didn’t buy anything.

We stand true to our budget as much as we can and try not to let any type of marketing ploys get to us but it’s not always that easy. This is why you should never shop hungry and how easy your grocery budget can get off track. Marketing works and if it didn’t they wouldn’t be doing it.

• What aromas play to your senses and your wallet when you are out and about?
• What other shops do you know of that rely on the smell of their product to lure in customers?
• Do you know of any stores that use scent dispensers to push smells into the air for customers to smell?

CBB at home and blog

Although we haven’t planted any vegetables our chives and spring onions have come up nicely. We actually have more than we anticipated so we will make sure we use them all up.

I do have 2 big loads of basil ready to go and I’m hoping the basil grows as big as it did last year. I was able to make quite a few freezer bags of basil cubes to use throughout the winter in soups, stews and other dishes that we created.

As you can see the rhubarb came up in abundance as always so I twisted it off, cleaned it and it’s in the freezer. We have so much rhubarb that I really need to figure out what to do with it all. I might end up making some sort of jam but I’m not really sure. Someone also mentioned to us that we could donate it to local church groups.

I can’t get over how pricey rhubarb is at the grocery store and I certainly wouldn’t want to see it go to waste. We tried it the other evening with sugar and it was very tasty but very tangy at the same time.

Other than that I’ve pretty much finished the landscaping although I have a few more touch ups to do as well as finish up the planters. We did buy all of our plants and shrubs so they are just waiting to be loved.

Our Heuchera plants that we purchased at Zehrs last year died but since we kept the receipt all we needed to do was dig the dead plants up and bring the receipt in for replacement plants free of charge. The best part was that the plants were on sale for $5.99 and we paid $6.99 last year so she gave me money back, lol. I was shocked but didn’t complain.

You may start to see changes at CBB but I’m not too sure yet. I’ll explain more near the time that I have to but for now a heads up that I may have to scale back on the blog posts. I’d love to be a full-time blogger as a career but unfortunately I have a full-time and part-time job as well. I do the best I can to bring you the best each week.

I was thinking of blogging Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday. Sunday will still be a delicious recipes and Tuesday will be the Grocery Game Challenge.

I will combine the Friday and Saturday post once again to free up another day. What are your thoughts? I always enjoy feedback and if there are any topics you think I haven’t covered and I’m sure there are loads let me know. If you have a story you want to share email me because I always love hearing stories from the fans.

So, that’s how our week went after returning from spending a couple of days with my wife’s family out-of-town. It was nice to get away and just relax.

How was your week?

-Mr.CBB

Weekly CBB posts

If you missed any CBB posts from the week here is the list of posts you can catch up on reading!

• For the cost of a stamp a disability tax credits application cost one couple $1649
• How a cooking skillet caused a customer to argue in the store
• Are you rich just because you are debt free?
• Margherita Pizza
• Would you give back a 40K find stuffed in a couch from the Thrift Store?
• Do you have safety measures in place for your BBQ?

Fan deals and inspirations

Submit your Brag or Inspiration If you have a brag that you want me to share email me at canadianbudgetbinder (@) [yahoo] [.ca] or fill out my contact form by Friday each week to have your brag considered for the Saturday post.

Today CBB fan Jen Peacock shares her garage sale finds which are always so impressive. Thanks Jen~

I was very pleased with my bargains today.  I now have painting supplies for when the basement is ready for a coat of paint and some insulation and piping for the plumbing for the basement at a fraction of the retail cost.

My best friends’ daughter is turning 8 soon and now loves brand name clothing so the sweaters are for her birthday (she is very accepting of second-hand clothing as her family usually shops at thrift stores and consignment shops).

• Long black pipe for plumbing – $.50 (they were asking $1.0o we went to Home Depot later and saw a short piece of this for $8.00)
• Pipe insulation – FREE (they were asking $.25 but when I pointed out that they originally got it free from the door to door energy-saving kits they gave it to me free)
• Painting kit with tray, roller handle, roller cover and brush – $5, Cold air return vent – $0.50, 3 pack paint rollers – $2, 2 pack small paint rollers – $1, Aeropostale sweaters 2 x $2.00=$4.00…this came to $12.50 but I bartered and got it for $10.00.
• Teacher’s gift pin – FREE
• Total spent $10.50

Making a difference

If you know a personal finance blogger that is making a difference and want to nominate them please send me an email canadianbudgetbinder (@) yahoo.ca so I can reach out to them for a feature story.

Note: If you are a blogger who gives back and would like to be featured by all means get in touch with me as I am filling spots up for the rest of 2014 and they are going quickly.

Today I would like to introduce to you my friend John which many of you know from Frugal Rules and now runs the personal finance blog Wise Dollar.

Hi Mr.CBB and Fans!

Wise Dollar is about teaching people to be, well, wise with their money.  🙂 Over my years working in the financial services industry I got to see first-hand just how much individuals were struggling with their finances.

They were either struggling with debt, not saving for retirement or lacked the know how of where to start. That is what drives me with blogging. I get to share my story about the challenges I dealt with and how I’ve been able to grow in knowledge.

How I hope to make a difference to readers of Wise Dollar is to help them learn basic everyday things they can do to save more money, prepare themselves for the future and, overall, be wise with their finances.

That is going to look different for each individual, but my desire is to give them the tools necessary to learn what that’s going to look like for them and the confidence to tackle those situations head on.

Many think that they need all sorts of money or need a certain level of education to begin making wise financial decisions but that is simply a myth. My hope is to be able to help those who are in need of help the confidence they need to get started down the path of wise financial living.

I would like to thank Mr. CBB for all the efforts he’s doing here on his site to do many of those same things as well as thank him for allowing me to share how I hope to make a difference with Wise Dollar.

What is a blog carnival?

Some fans have asked me “what is a blog carnival?” so a little explanation is due here for anyone reading for the first time or for my long-time fans.

A blog carnival is where a blog or website hosts what we call a carnival of blog posts from around the web. Most blog carnivals have a theme and certain rules for submitting which must be followed.

If you are a blogger and would like to learn what blog carnival directories I submit to each week you can find the information in a previous Saturday Weekend Review post that I wrote.

Carnival glory

A big thanks to these pages for accepting my blog posts and sharing them in the following carnivals and/or sharing my blog posts with their fans. If you don’t see your blog it’s likely because I don’t know that you shared my post so send me an email to let me know. Thanks.

Carnivals

• Carnival of Financial Planning– The Smaller Dollar
• Carnival of Retirement-Money Sense
• Carnival of Retirement– Make Money Your Way
• Carnival of Financial Planning– Finance with Reason

Mentions

• Best from the Blogs–Saskatchewan Pension Plan
• My Own Advisor
• Home renovations this summer– The Brighter Life
• Mash Up– Debt Free Guys
• Top 10 personal finance posts of the month– Cash the cheques

Google search terms

Every week I get thousands of people visit Canadian Budget Binder because they did a search online and found my blog. Keep in mind any spelling errors below are because I share with you the exact way they typed their search engine query to land on my blog.

• Is $160,000 too much debt? – I think any debt is too much debt but that’s just me.
• What do we call money? – Money? Moola, Cash….
• $100,000 dollar windfall Canada– I wish!
• How to make good pizza sauce? – You follow my Famous Pizza recipe *wink

Thanks for joining me for this edition of The Saturday Weekend Review #73. Join me here again for more crazy stories from around the web and at home!

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Related articles

• The Saturday Weekend Review #67: Do we ignore the poor people?
• The Saturday Weekend Review #68: Do you hold an Easter egg hunt for the kids?
• The Saturday Weekend Review #69: Is paying off the homeless people the answer?
• The Saturday Weekend Review #70: Are businesses going too far for customer service?
• The Saturday Weekend Review #71: Should you negotiate prices at garage sales?
• The Saturday Weekend Review #73: Would you give back 40K that you found in a Thrift Store couch?

Photo Credit: Freedigitalphotos.net/Artur84