Dynamics of Sensory Marketing in Rurban Areas of India
Authors: Patnaik B. C. M. , Satpathy Ipseeta , Kumar Abhishek , Arif Md. Zahir Uddin , Malik Reena 
Published: October 2024

Sensory marketing plays a significant role in providing consumers with experiential marketing experiences. It involves engaging consumers through their senses of sight, hearing, smell, touch, and taste. By appealing to these senses, marketers can effectively reach out to consumers and create memorable experiences. The stimuli generated by marketing efforts are first received by the sense organs, leading to the interpretation of sensations. This perception process ultimately determines whether a person will be satisfied or dissatisfied with the experience. Perception refers to the act of comprehending one's environment through the use of the five senses. Sense organs can be described as tools that gather information from our surroundings. In fact, consumers have a desire to visually inspect, touch, hear, smell, or taste a product before making a purchase. This desire stems from the need to minimize perceived risk and find the best solution to fulfill their needs. Once a person is exposed to stimuli, they begin the process of perception, taking into account their expectations, past experiences, and motives. These stimuli can include images, sounds, tastes, smells, and tactile sensations, as well as personal factors like expectations, motives, and past experiences. Products, brands, packaging, advertisements, and store designs are all examples of stimuli. When consumers physically interact with these stimuli, they are exposed to them. Sense organs play a vital role in mediating this exposure and creating sensations. As a result of this process, consumers focus their attention on the stimuli created by their surroundings, taking into consideration individual factors and the nature of the stimuli. They then interpret and respond to these stimuli accordingly. Personal factors such as past experiences and motives shape the perception process, while the nature of the stimuli influences the level of attention given to them, indirectly affecting the consumer's perception. Sensory marketing is a powerful tool utilized by sellers to impact consumption habits through sensory and emotional appeals to customers. In today's competitive retail landscape, where retailers are vying for the same customers and selling similar products at similar prices, the concept of retail convergence has intensified competition. This has led retailers to differentiate themselves by incorporating sensory marketing strategies. Factors influencing sensory marketing can be categorized as external and internal, shedding light on the rationale behind its implementation. While senses can pose challenges for marketing, they also serve as drivers of the purchasing process in sensory marketing. One key external factor driving the adoption of sensory marketing is the evolving consumer behavior, which is increasingly influenced by emotions, fantasies, and entertainment. With the rise of online shopping due to technological advancements, retailers are compelled to leverage sensory marketing to attract customers to physical stores. Additionally, sales tactics like contests and games are commonly employed to enhance customer experiences and promote sensory marketing practices in the competitive retail environment. On the other hand, the primary internal factor impacting sensory marketing practices is the positive effect on consumer perceptions of product quality and value. For instance, consumers may perceive a product in a glass bottle to be of higher quality compared to the same product in a plastic bottle, leading them to be willing to pay a premium. As a result, sensory marketing plays a crucial role in shaping consumer perceptions and influencing their purchasing decisions. The scope of the study will be restricted to rural and urban areas of Odisha. In the context approximately 400 responses will be collected in the study areas. A casual research approach will be utilized in this study to analyze the influence of factors on the five senses of consumers when selecting a high-end restaurant. The primary data was collected through a survey method. The survey will consist of two sections, with the first focusing on demographic aspects and the second on variables related to the five senses and their impact on restaurant selection. Participants were asked to identify factors affecting their decision-making process when choosing a restaurant and to indicate their agreement with the findings. The impact of sight will be assessed through the atmosphere, smell through the food served, hearing through the music genre and volume, taste through the flavor of food and drinks, and touch through the comfort, softness, and size of seats. A 5-point Likert scale was used for measurement (Strongly Agree = 5, Strongly Disagree = 1).