Using scent in your booth?

[#1]

Ok I know scent can be a turnoff if it is really strong. But I am NOT thinking putting overpowered smells in the booth. Just lite and elusive scents.

Here is what I am thinking. I found some cinnamon sticks, that give off a very lite scent. I was thinking about adding a couple of those to my booth, to provide more ambiance to my holiday booth.

I want to create an elusive scent in the booth that reminds you of warm holiday baking on a snowy day.

Have you used scents in your booth?

[KiltedWoman]

I like the cinnamon idea. Years ago I made some glue and cinnamon decorations that give off a nice light scent. Since it is a food smell it would be a less cloying scent than many other things. People who are sensitive to smells must have a terrible time at indoor craft shows. There is always soap or lavender or incense. If I was scent allergic or sensitive I would shop on etsy instead! I think a bit of cinnamon would not bother the vast majority of shoppers and might subconsciously make them stay longer. I say try it and let us know how it went.

[PattenCreations]

Not a scent fan, and frankly tend to avoid stores (yes, even candle and body stores) that are full of scent. But I have several members of my family that are very sensitive to a variety of scents and personally can not tolerate eucalyptus. So I don't even wear body lotion with any sort of scent when I'm working - no scented candles burning, nothing. So if I came upon a booth that had scent when they were not selling scented items I would probably walk on by.

[Former_Member]

I have allergies to perfumes. They give me migraines even in small amounts. I vote no to scents.

[ElunaJewelry]

You guys do realize I am talking cinnamon sticks from the spice aisle in the grocery store, right?

Not a chemical mixture that imitates a cinnamon smell?

Btw fragrances and perfumes can have on average 300 notes of scent and a large mixture of chemical compounds used to create that scent. An organic source (cinnamon stick, naval orange, ect ) have 1 natural note.

For the record, again, I asked for people who have done this and their experiences. Not for you to "vote" on how I run my business.

I am going to run my business based on the numbers, not your opinion.

[RomaMiaTradingCo]

April, I don't think people are giving you a "vote" on how to run your business, but rather giving you opinions from the view points of sellers.

If you feel as though the scent will make your area more inviting, go for it! If your confident that the cinnamon sticks will be fine, than use them. Like others have said before, major stores have used fragrances as a marketing tactic. I personally don't use anything because I don't want my knits smelling like anything besides clean.

[RomaMiaTradingCo]

Oh meant to say "view points of buyers" not sellers.

[WhimsyBits]

You obviously want to do it so why are you asking for opinions if you don't like them?

Yes people are saying don't do it, but that's their opinion. Maybe some of us don't use scents but we are also buyers so we know the experience. Some people like it, some people don't. If you want to do it - then go ahead and do it and see how it works for you.

The scent of baked goods is entirely different than a fragrance... but that's just me.

[khmetalwork]

At one show I scented my booth with freshly made french fries, (stashed out of sight, under the table), people said 'those fries smell so good, I'm getting hungry...' I only heard positive remarks about the odor, but can report no sales while the amazing smell wafted up from under the table.

[ElunaJewelry]

@whimsy,

I was not asking for opinions! Please re-read my posts!

I was asking those who have tried this, what their experiences were. In other words data, not opinions.

[LizArti]

Your original question was: "Have you used scents in your booth?"
People are answering yes or no and giving their reasons.

[ElunaJewelry]

I stand corrected, yes my original post did say "have you used scents in your booth."

That stated, I have gotten irritate by those posts telling me what I should do rather than what they would do.

I don't mind the idea of "no I don't use that" or I don't use it because XYZ.

But the comments similar to...
"I would not want to be beside you and your smells."
"I vote no you should not"
"I would not come into your booth if I smelled something.

These are not about if a poster uses scent or not in their booth. These are coming off as "this is how you should run your business" and that is not the type of input asked for. Hence my irritation since I do not recall asking "if I should do this".

[deltamoonsoap]

I think the operative words were a little scent, not overpowering. I sell soap too, so scent is important, however I once did a show where the lady did candles and SHE had no scense of smell, I had SUCH a headache by the end of the day! So I don't think a little is a bad thing. Cinnamon is such a cozy scent.

[WhimsyBits]

April - people are giving you buyer perspective, which is what you should care about. You want to give your buyers an environment, shouldn't you care what their opinions are?

[ElunaJewelry]

I am targeting my dream customer in this setup. I am creating an environment for my buyers.

The idea of adding cinnamon to my booth is part of creating a full buying experience that incorporates four of the five sense. All five of I decide to offer a free edible treat on the table.

I am not talking about overpowering my booth in smell. I am talking about a smell that is barely detectable and 98% of those who walk in will probably not even notice

My "holiday" booth is designed to encourage the feelings of warmth and luxury on a cold snowy day. Yes, it has a theme. And for many people, holiday baking scents bring the nostalgia of the holidays to life, by reminding them of that happy warm comfort during the holiday season. When they feel that nostalgia they tend to be more open to shopping rather than looking.

I think many of you who insist that I am not thinking of my buyers maybe under the impression that I consider everyone to be my buyers. I don't. I am targeting my dream clients, if others buy that is wonderful. If not, they probably would not have bought anything anyway and I have not lost anything.

I am not going stress myself out to make everyone that I see happy, because I can't. I am however going to focus on creating an amazing holiday booth that I can be proud of.

[ThimbleAndStitches]

For those of you who sell soap, do you wrap your bars or do you have open bars so people can smell the different scents?

[KiltedWoman]

I've tried wrapping my soap in groups of 3 in a poly bag and it did not sell. I am now felting almost all of my soap which sells much better. People always pick them up to smell and the felt keeps the scent down to a subtle level.

[stringnstone]

I have my full bars in muslin bags with a wrapped label and what I call Minis which are small 1/2 bars just with a paper band label. All full bars have minis so people pick up the minis to smell and choose scent.

I have people say they are drawn to our booth by the wonderful smell and a vendor across from us say she wished the wind would shift because she was allergic to a fragrance. I am not big on perfumey smells.. so my soaps are on the lite scent side.. I have on occasion made some that were a bit stronger but only put out one or two of those and the rest in a plastic bag or they will scent everything else.
My knits only come in proximity on show days but I do put a lavender sachet in the tote with them to freshen them.

[ThimbleAndStitches]

Thank you Lori and Margaret for your answers to my question. I have my first show coming up that I'm going to be selling soap at. After reading this thread I didn't know what to do. I have the bars wrapped individually and plan on having one sample of each scent open to smell. I'll take little baggies along in case a neighboring stand has an allergy to a certain scent. I don't want to make anyone sick! :(