Purpose

This meta-analysis aims to examine and compare the pleasant ambient scent effects on consumers’ affective, cognitive and behavioural responses in the retail and hospitality sectors.

Design/methodology/approach

55 articles, including 102 effect sizes, are collected from electronic databases and search engines. The effect of pleasant ambient scents on consumer responses is examined using meta-regression analysis.

Findings

The results show a positive effect of pleasant ambient scent on all responses in both sectors, while the effects on cognitive and behavioural responses are stronger in hospitality than retailing. Moreover, the scent effects in hospitality research vary with method aspects, including sampling frame, research design, setting and location.

Research limitations/implications

The findings provide theoretical insights on the sensory tangibilization of experience and methodological insights on designing scent research.

Originality/value

The stronger effect of pleasant ambient scents on cognitive and behavioural responses in a hospitality environment signals that contextual differences should not be neglected. Moreover, hospitality researchers need to stay vigilant to the methodological influence on the findings about scent effects. These findings enrich the sensory marketing literature, in which contextual comparison is scarce.

中文翻译：

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零售业和酒店业气味效应的荟萃分析比较

目的

这项荟萃分析旨在检查和比较宜人的环境气味对零售和酒店行业消费者情感、认知和行为反应的影响。

设计/方法论/途径

从电子数据库和搜索引擎收集了 55 篇文章，包括 102 个效应量。使用元回归分析来检查宜人的环境气味对消费者反应的影响。

发现

结果表明，宜人的环境气味对这两个行业的所有反应都有积极影响，而酒店业对认知和行为反应的影响比零售业更强。此外，酒店研究中的气味效应因方法方面的不同而异，包括抽样框架、研究设计、环境和地点。

研究局限性/影响

这些发现为经验的感官具体化提供了理论见解，并为设计气味研究提供了方法论见解。

原创性/价值

在酒店环境中，宜人的环境气味对认知和行为反应的影响更大，这表明环境差异不应被忽视。此外，酒店业研究人员需要警惕方法论对气味效应研究结果的影响。这些发现丰富了感官营销文献，其中情境比较很少。