Second-hand Smell The Impact of Odor on Customer Behavior in a Second-hand Clothing Store
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2022-07-08
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en
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Abstract
The clothing industry is not only one of the biggest polluters of the environment, but also a
driving factor in climate change. A promising solution is to reuse clothes, which consumers can
do by purchasing second-hand clothes. The current study focuses on affecting consumer
behavior with the use of scent in a sustainable environment. The goal of this study was to
investigate if a congruent odor could affect consumers evaluation and their spending behavior.
Additionally, the relationship between consumers evaluation and their spending behavior was
researched. To test the hypotheses, a field experiment with a between-subject design was
executed where consumers of a second-hand clothing store (N = 308) would face one of three
conditions: clean clothing scent (associated with clean clothes and hygiene), citrus scent
(associated with cleanliness but not with clothes) and the regular store odor (control condition).
A one-way ANOVA and a mediation analysis was performed to analyze the data. In line with
prior research, the clean clothing scent significantly increased the amount of money participants
spend. In contrast, the clean clothing smell did not affect customers evaluation, and no mediation
of store evaluation on the relationship between scent and spending behavior was found. These
results show that consumers are affected by a scent that is clearly liked with clean clothes, as
they spend more money. However, the evaluation of the store by consumers did not change
between the conditions. Further research should focus on the relationship between congruent
scents on sustainable behavior as little is currently known.
Keywords: Fast fashion, ambient smell, sustainability, second-hand store,
consumer behavior
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Faculteit der Sociale Wetenschappen