Sensory Marketing Theory: How Sensorial Stimuli Influence Consumer Behavior and Subconscious Decision-Making

Abstract

Sensory marketing is a rapidly advancing field of marketing that allows brands to capitalize on consumer behavior, more specifically subconscious decision-making. By understanding how the brain processes and evaluates sensorial stimuli, we can better understand how sensorial cues can lead to emotional and brand attachment with consumers. After identifying the significance of embodied cognition and how sensory awareness influences human behavior, we analyzed how sensory marketing can evoke certain bodily sensations. By conducting various case study analyses through “Neural Correlates of Behavioral Preference for Culturally Familiar Drinks” and “The Influence of In-Store Music on Wine Selections”, we’ve been able to visualize data that supports evidence of auditory stimuli' effects on in-store decision-making as well as evidence of subconscious brand preference for consumers. Furthermore, we’ve examined how the anticipation of certain brands results in increased amygdala activation, showing how sensory marketing can alter the way our brains perceive the merit of products. Finally, we’ve created a conceptual model that allows for a better understanding of the sensory marketing progression on the consumer’s end.