Christmas Smells & Sounds = Buy, Buy, Buy!

For as long as I can remember Christmas has been associated with scents and sounds. From the angels singing while the wise men gave baby Jesus frankincense and myrrh, to the smell of cinnamon and the jingle of sleigh bells today. As it’s coming up for Christmas shops have started to decorate but it’s not just for the warm fuzzy feeling and the enjoyment of their customers that they do this. Most retailers depend on strong Christmas sales every year and by dressing their store up they increase their profitability.

‘It’s beginning to smell (and sound) a lot like Christmas: the interactive effects of ambient scent and music in a retail setting’ an article by Eric R. Spangenberg et al. looks at the effects of ambient scent and music on a customers evaluation of a store, it’s environment and merchandise. The article compares customer reactions in a mock retail setting where no Christmas scent vs. Christmas scent and no Christmas music vs. Christmas music is applied. They found that Christmas scent buying effects are moderated by music. Customers react better when scent and music are combined equally. Where there is scent but no music stores evaluations are lowered. Shops need to keep scent and sound consistent or there will be no affect on a customer’s behaviour. Therefore it is a wise choice for shops to evoke the spirit of the Christmas season by implementing environmental cues and creating a welcoming, pleasant atmosphere.

“results suggest that wise retailers can act upon this lesson by blessing their customers with synchronized sound systems and scent diffusers, and in turn receive the blessing of strong holiday sales.”

It would be interesting to see whether or not this theory works for other holiday seasons such as Halloween or Easter. Also if it’s not Christmas would Christmas scent and sound still make you buy? Probably not as other factors would be missing such as, time of year and general holiday spirit. However different scents and sounds may be capable of increasing profit. In the ‘Hollister’ shop for example there is a distinct smell and music is played loudly throughout the store. Most people enjoy this especially the smell. You can smell the store before you see it so it is instantly recognisable, the clothes inside are sprayed with the signature scent so when you buy something and wear it for the first time you remind other people that recognise the smell of the brand. The shop then has extra items to sell as customers can buy bottles of perfume or the CDs that are played.

Scent and sound is a very clever non intrusive way to encourage people to buy, most of the time you won’t even notice you’ve been affected. I guess it’s the same as when you smell a Starbucks coffee then suddenly have to buy one.

Do Store Interiors Make You Buy?

I’ve currently been reading articles about the interior design of stores and whether or not it increases sales. Does a shop layout, environment, visual merchandising and interior design make people buy? It has been proven that it does. In today’s market where competition is fierce the design of a shop is where some companies would be able to gain an edge over their competitors. A shops atmosphere can attract customers and keep them coming back.

Andrea Groeppcl-KIein and Dorothea Baun test this theory in their journal ‘The Role of Customers’ Arousal for Retail Stores- Results from Experimental Pilot Study Using Electro dermal Activity as Indicator.’ They agreed with other experts such as Donvan and Rossiter that a pleasant store environment generates arousal and pleasure in the customer which in turn increases; shopping enjoyment, time spent in the store, a willingness to talk to personnel, chances of customers spending more money than planned and their probability of returning to the store.  However they felt that other articles simply measured this on a verbal scale which may not generate accurate results. They propose to use Electro dermal Activity (EDA) to measure a customer’s arousal in a store. EDA is a sensitive indicator that responds to the smallest variation in a person’s arousal.

They set up two different grocery stores in Austria both selling the same products, of the same quality and price.

Store 1 took into account environmental psychology. The fruit and veg were presented in a large scale in deep carriers and separated according to colour. Some products were placed on islands in the middle of the store. Exotic fruit, flowers and fresh herbs were used as eye catchers. The store was bright, spacious and high ceilinged.

Store 2 did not take into account environmental psychology. It wasn’t very bright and there was no extraordinary product presentation unlike store 1. Shelving was put along side the wall and display tables were in rows squeezed within long narrow aisles.

As they thought Store 1 created a higher arousing environment.

So, why does a more pleasant environment make us want to buy or revisit a shop?  Well an interesting and provocative store design affects the part of the brain involved with filtering sensory information from the central nervous system. All sensory information enhances arousal which therefore causes activity and reactivity in the central nervous system. This increases outer and inner stimulation which leads to higher activation and activity. Basically a pleasant store atmosphere evokes positive feelings which will then be associated with the shop and the brand. Stores with clear and simple structures make people feel relaxed therefore more comfortably in the store. When we are comfortable, relaxed and enjoying ourselves we are open to buying.

I know that I’m definitely affected by a stores design there are some shops I dread going into and rarely buy from because the shop is messy, unorganised and overcrowded. Shopping is more pleasurable for me when it’s a calm experience. I like stores that aren’t busy or noisy, that smell nice, have their items laid out clearly, and changing rooms that aren’t claustrophobic. This makes me want to buy; the whole experience feels like I’m treating myself from the moment I walk in to when I leave with my item nicely wrapped and bagged.

Assignment 5 (A): Planning for the Future.

Design Studies assignment 5 asks us to develop the topic we researched and wrote about in semester one into a research proposal. Using the knowledge and techniques we have gained so far to investigate the subject.

 Research Proposal.

The subject chosen for investigation is, ‘How the surrounding environment can affect crime.’ The interest in this subject began after reading ‘The Tipping Point’ by Malcolm Gladwell. There is a section in this book that describes how the rise and fall of crime in New York City was affected by the state of the environment. Crime was at its highest when the environment was at its worst. After New York enforced their no tolerance policy and cleaned up the streets crime reduced greatly. Further research was then undertaken by looking up and reading books and journals relating to the topic. Two that were found to be the most relevant were ‘The Environment and Social Behaviour’ by Irwin Altman and ‘Street Management and City Design’ by E.P. Fowler as they both looked into how the physical environment affects people and their behaviour. This proposal will discuss what methods will be used to research the chosen subject, also to plan when and how it will be done.

The research will be undertaken in the city of Dundee. Firstly the crime rates in different areas of the city will be identified the areas with the highest and lowest rates of crime will be selected. These areas will be visited and observed noting down the surroundings and goings on, for example; is there any graffiti? Are the streets clean and tidy? What are the habits of the people there? This will generate insight into each area and differences between the two will emerge. A general understanding of the area should now be obtained however this alone will not be enough, speaking to the people who live there will be necessary.

Informal interviews with people who live in each area will be useful to gain personal opinions on why they think their community has that crime rate. People who live in the high crime rate area will be asked why they think crime is so high in their area and what they think can be done to decrease it. In the low crime rate areas they will be asked why they think it is low and what stops people in that area from committing crime. This should hopefully give some inside knowledge and lead to other questions that will prove useful in showing how the environment affects behaviour towards crime.  Informal interviews will make people feel at ease and therefore more likely to contribute valuable answers. The interviews will be conducted in a relaxed environment where people feel comfortable, perhaps with tea and biscuits in someone’s living room, or at a local community centre or coffee morning where groups of people are likely to be socialising. Hazel White a jeweller, who now works at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art in Dundee, found that informal interviews worked well for her. When she was gathering information for her research she went along to knitting clubs to speak to members of a community, she found that in a relaxed social space people were more willing to talk. Interviews may not be useful in cases where people want to remain anonymous this is why questionnaires will also be provided so that people can write down their true thoughts if they are worried they may be judged.

Brainstorming sessions and group sketching can be used to generate ideas of how to stop crimes being committed. It will suggest future ways of improving the community whilst also pointing out the ways in which the current environment is affecting behaviour at the moment. These sessions will also stimulate conversation and provoke new thoughts.

The people that are committing the crimes will be given questionnaires and interviewed if they are willing. They will be asked what caused them to turn to crime and if they feel their environment had any affect on this? Do they think that if their environment was different they would have been less likely to commit the crime?

Local police officers should be spoken to, finding out their opinion on how each environment affects the crime rate. The types of crimes committed in each area might link with something specific with the environment in that area, for example if the area has a lot of graffiti other people may be encouraged to graffiti as well. It could be useful to find out about the police prevention techniques and how they deal with the crime in the community and whether or not these techniques are working. There may be limitations to speaking with the police as they might not be authorised to pass on some information however any information gained will be valuable.

This research will be carried out during a one year period this will create the opportunity to observe the environment of each area at different times throughout the year. Will the summer generate more activities keeping people occupied with other things instead of crime? Or as it gets colder in the winter will people be more likely to stay indoors and less likely to be out committing crime? The work will mainly be carried out alone but a group will be brought together at different stages in the process to discuss findings, create new ideas and opinions. Discussion in a group will help stimulate the research from time to time. Once all the information has been gathered the results will be analysed between two and three weeks. A conclusion will then be made about how the surrounding environment affects crime. 

Assignment 4: Reading and Reviewing.

In our fourth and final assignment of semester one, we have been asked to choose one book and one journal article from the previous assignment to read in more depth and review. The book I have chosen is ‘The Environment and Social Behaviour’ by Irwin Altman and ‘Street Management and City Design’ by E.P. Fowler is the journal article that I will review.

‘The Environment and Social Behaviour’ is about human and social behaviour in relation to the physical environment. The books main purpose is to examine how we use the environment in the course of social interaction looking at four main concepts; privacy, personal space, territory and crowding. The author wants to tie these four concepts together as usually they are looked at separately by different disciplines.  He believes mixing disciplines such as social and natural science with practitioner disciplines, (architects and interior designers) will develop a greater understanding between the environment and social behaviour. The author believes that the concept of privacy is central and connects all four concepts. He will suggest that territorial behaviour and personal space are ways in which people try to regulate their desired level of contact with others. Crowding is where these measures have not worked ending up with undesired social contact.

Irwin Altman looks into his concepts of personal space, territorial behaviour and crowding more closely and uses secondary sources to inform his judgements. Within the subject of personal space a key source that was used was from an anthropologist Edward Hall (1966). Hall looked at four personal distance zones in his book ‘The Hidden Dimension’, and outlined hypothesised differences among cultures and spacing behaviour. This showed that people use space to communicate with one another and that different cultures use this space differently.

Within the concept of crowding Sommer (1969) is a source which shows how people respect boundaries which are not physical. Sommer analyses a neighbourhood in Chicago and observes a street which was dominated by blacks while the very next street was dominated by Irish whites the two rarely crossing over.

The author feels practitioners and designers must translate work to each other, understanding each other’s styles and accepting differences. Designers must bring together information such as other points of view, researchers’ knowledge, their own knowledge and practical demands when designing environments.  The physical environment must be shaped to fit man to help him perform affectively.  The conclusion the author believes to be most fruitful is designing flexible environments that can be manipulated and altered.

If we take this line of reasoning seriously, that when the physical environment is shaped to fit a person they perform better, we may begin to create environments that are changeable.  Then these changeable environments may for example dissolve tense situations or bring people closer together, all in all creating a more harmonious environment for people to live in. This may also lead to a decrease in crime as surroundings will be less threatening and will help create a positive atmosphere.

The journal article ‘Street Management and City Design’ looks at how city design and the physical environment affect human behaviour. The main purposes of this article are to firstly define the physical characteristics of the post war city and suburb. To then explore their significance for street level management. Finally the author wants to test Jane Jacobs’ hypothesis that physical diversity in cities encourages neighbours to relate to each other and discourages crime.

Jane Jacobs was a writer and an activist. Her primary interest was in communities, urban planning and decay. Her work is a key source for the author and her controversial book ‘The Death and Life of Great American Cities’ (1961) has been examined closely by Fowler.  Jacobs’ main theory was that lack of physical diversity in our cities discourages people from taking responsibility for the dull job of looking after our streets.  She felt that physical diversity could only be achieved if four points were met. These are; a mixture of land uses, concentration of uses, mixing old and new buildings and having short blocks. Jacobs’ felt that “physical design could help or hinder recognition of neighbours which in turn influenced a degree of informal control over street behaviour especially of children and outsiders”. She believed this informal control is the main ingredient in safer streets.  The author looks at Jacobs’ four points more closely in her article carrying out a study of her own to see if the physical environment does affect human behaviour.

Fowler analyses 19 areas which are handpicked, all to be as different as possible in relation to; land use, concentration of use, building age and block length. The data is collected through questionnaires, the Canadian Census, the police, maps, planning data and observation of the area.

The author found that part of Jacobs’ thesis was supported by the data, it supports the fact that effective neighbourhood management stems from physical diversity. The data agrees with Jacobs’ theory of mixing land use and having short blocks, as many residents in areas of high density combined with mixed land use, short blocks and new buildings  felt optimistic about the safety in that area.

This article suggests that lack of physical diversity in our cities have a negative effect on social behaviour resulting in higher crime rates. It suggests that to decrease this negative effect we would need to build more physically diverse cities. However this may not be straightforward as not everyone may want a city like this, to quote Gans some people may want “the quiet and privacy obtainable in low density neighbourhoods and elevator apartment houses.”

The two chosen texts that I looked at more closely have the same opinion that the physical environment affects people and their behaviour. Although their main topic is the same they both look into different issues. The first text, ‘The Environment and Social Behaviour’ suggests that environments should be created to be flexible so that a person can alter their contact with others depending on their mood, which would in turn decrease tense situations leading to a decrease in crime. The second text, ‘Street Management and City Design’ states that a more physically diverse city will create a more harmonious city.

 I feel these books have given a good insight into the environment and how it can affect human behaviour. Carrying out research of my own may help me achieve a better understanding of the environment and the affects it has on human behaviour. I think observing human behaviour in different parts of my city may be interesting. Finding out the different crime rates of specific areas and looking at the surroundings in these areas and how they differ from each other may be a useful starting point. Interviewing people who live in these areas and finding out what their lives are like and if they think that their area affects how they live and act might also prove useful. Doing this would create evidence that is specific to my city, I think it would also help me to understand the topic in greater detail as I would be experiencing first hand and creating my own opinions.

To get a broader understanding of what effects crime I think I should look more closely at the other books I found in assignment 3. ‘The Price We Pay: Economic and Social Consequences of Inadequate Education’ by Clive Belfield and Henry Levin looks into the costs of investing in good education and not doing so. This could be something that affects someone’s life choices leading them to live in a certain area which in turn could affect their behaviour and whether or not they will commit crime.

I do feel that the book and the journal article that I have chosen to write about in this assignment were the most relevant to my chosen subject of how the environment can change people and cause them to commit crime.

Bibliography:

Altman, Irwin. (1975) ‘The Environment and Social Behaviour’. Wadsworth Publishing Company, Inc.: Belmont, California.

Belfield, Clive, R. and Levin, Henry, M. (2007) ‘The Price We Pay: Economic and Social Consequences of Inadequate Education’.  The Brookings Institution: Washington D.C.

Box, Steven. (1987) ‘Recession, Crime and Punishment’. The Macmillan Press Ltd.: Basingstoke, Hampshire.

Dahlberg, Matz and Gustavsson, Magnus. (2007)’ Inequality and Crime: Separating the Effects of Permanent and Transitory Income’. Blackwell Publishing Ltd and the Department of Economics: University of Oxford.

Fowler, E.P. (1987) ‘Street Management and City Design.’ Social Forces, vol. 66, no. 2, pages 365-389

Hensworth, Simon. (2008) ‘Designing to Prevent Crime: Crime Prevention through Environmental Design.’ Architecture Australia, vol.97, issue 2, pages 111-112.

Jacobs, Jane. (1961) ‘The Death and Life of Great American Cities’.  Random House: New York 

Roncek, Dennis, W. (1981) ‘Dangerous Places: Crime and Residential Environment.’ Social Forces, vol.60, no. 1, pages 74-96.