The new SenseLab at the University of Eastern Finland opens up new opportunities for research into consumer behaviour in a multisensory research environment.
- Text Sari Eskelinen Photos and video Niko Jouhkimainen
The smell of gingerbread biscuits and conifers, shades of red and green, the jingling of sleigh bells – Christmas is a sensory time of the year. The Christmas music we hear in shops encourages some customers to shop, while others find it irritating. But what is the significance of various sensory stimuli for consumer behaviour? This can be examined more closely at the new multisensory laboratory, SenseLab.
‘The laboratory also allows us to study various sensory stimuli related to Christmas and their uniform effects on consumers’, says Tommi Laukkanen, Professor of Marketing and Consumer Behaviour.
So far, SenseLab has not focused on Christmas sensory stimuli. However, researchers have studied Christmas consumer behaviour in a study repeated over several Christmases. The study examined consumer attitudes and intentions to buy recycled “pre-loved” Christmas gifts.
‘Last Christmas, we found that although consumers generally have a positive attitude towards recycled Christmas gifts, few people plan to buy them. On the other hand, there was a strong link between intentions and behaviour among consumers who intended to buy recycled Christmas gifts. In addition, this link was clearly reinforced by the green values of consumers. Previous research has found that people often say they are green consumers but do not necessarily behave accordingly, and it is therefore important to pay attention to consumer choices around Christmas’, says Assistant Professor Heli Hallikainen.
The study has collected data from customers at the Tori.fi online marketplace, among others. This year, consumers will be asked not only about their willingness to buy gifts, but also about how they view the recycled item if they were received as a gift.
In a genuine commercial environment, studying sensory stimuli and their combinations is challenging and takes time.
Tommi Laukkanen
Professor of Marketing and Consumer Behaviour
The laboratory can combine various sensory stimuli
SenseLab will officially open in January 2024, when researchers will be able to do research in real action. The sensory laboratory can study consumer behaviour in very different environments. In addition to a grocery store, it is possible to create a restaurant environment in the laboratory, where the effects of lighting and the tempo of background music on the choices of restaurant customers can be studied.
‘International studies have found that the tempo of music, for example, affects what kind of food consumers choose in a restaurant’, says Laukkanen.
Sensory marketing, and especially the combination of various sensory stimuli are increasingly utilised in retail trade. For example, the smell floating near the bread shelf in the grocery store might not be genuine, but instead produced with a scent device.
‘The smell can be used to activate consumers to buy bread. The aim is to influence consumer behaviour and choices through different types of sensory experiences, such as sounds, scents and colours.’
Indeed, researchers are increasingly interested in how various combinations of sensory stimuli affect consumer behaviour. The new multisensory laboratory enables testing different types of sensory stimuli and their combinations in a controlled environment.
‘Studying these in a genuine commercial environment is challenging, expensive, and time consuming. In a laboratory, we can test how the research design works in a controlled laboratory environment and then test whether the observations hold true in the actual commercial environment. This requires concrete co-operation with business organisations.’
Doctoral researcher Nino Ruusunen examines the significance of touch on consumer decision-making and behaviour. This includes testing with consumers how the firmness of a cardboard coffee cup affects the assessment of the taste of the coffee.
‘For some consumers, the sense of touch affects the sense of taste. People who touch a lot and have a greater Need for Touch, are able to eliminate the significance of touch from their assessment.’
The study showed that coffee tastes better in a firmer cup if the consumer has little general interest in touching products. However, this assessment was influenced by the order in which the coffee was sampled. If the first coffee portion was sampled from a softer cardboard cup, there was little difference in the flavour estimates.
Studies have also shown that, for example, the weight of a mineral water can affect the taste experience of consumers. Bubble water consumed from a lighter can was estimated to be better than that consumed from a heavy can.
‘Consumers can be roughly divided into two groups. There are consumers who could not be less interested in touching, and those who like to touch products.’
Senses are connected to emotions
The impact of various sensory stimuli on consumer behaviour is a trend emerging in consumer research and psychology. Heli Hallikainen estimates that the growing interest is partly explained by the fact that companies have increasingly started to use sensory marketing in their business in recent years. Because various sensory stimuli, such as scents and music, can also annoy consumers, information about their impact is needed.
‘For example, background music at Christmas time, when played in excess, may annoy some consumers. In both research and business, the aim is to increase understanding of the potential consequences of sensory marketing before it is implemented.’
Researchers are therefore interested in how various sensory elements affect consumer behaviour.
‘This information is valuable for companies seeking to improve the customer experience, create a stronger brand identity and increase sales’, says Doctoral Researcher Nino Ruusunen.
If a brand succeeds in creating a unique sensory identity, it can strengthen the brand’s market position.
Nino Ruusunen
Doctoral Researcher
Sensory marketing creates more in-depth and versatile experiences of products or services. Comfortable music or pleasant scents can attract customers to stay in the store longer and potentially buy more.
‘Senses are also connected to emotions. When consumers experience positive sensations, it can create a strong emotional bond to the brand or product, which increases loyalty and repeated purchases.
Sensations can also leave a permanent memory trace when consumers combine, for example, a specific scent with a specific brand.’ In branding, offering unique sensory experiences makes it possible to stand out from competitors.
‘If a brand succeeds in creating a unique sensory identity, it can strengthen the brand’s market position.
Watch the video
Unique research and learning environment
The multisensory laboratory consists of a lounge, a laboratory space, and a monitoring room. Lounge enables priming, during which the subjects are exposed to sensory stimuli before entering the laboratory space.
‘We can examine whether the subject is left with a trace of sensory stimuli that may affect the decisions they make in the laboratory space’, says Laukkanen.
The multisensory laboratory will study, for example, responsible consumption. It also opens up new opportunities for research and teaching in tourism, nutrition, and home economics.
‘For examples, UEF Business School will, in the spring, provide an advanced level course in sensory marketing, in which the topic can be demonstrated to students in the laboratory. Other fields of science have also expressed interest in using the facilities in teaching.’
It is particularly important for the laboratory that it is possible to utilise various sensory stimuli both in the real world and by using immersive VR equipment.
Heli Hallikainen
Assistant Professor
According to Hallikainen, there are not too many similar concepts in consumer research in the world.
‘During the planning phase, we did good groundwork and benchmarked various VR labs and consumer behaviour laboratories in Finland and abroad.’ From all these, we picked the best practices and ideas for SenseLab, in order to make the facilities versatile. It is particularly important for the laboratory that it is possible to carry out research both in the real world and by using immersive VR equipment.
SenseLab is a joint project between the Yliopistokiinteistöt Oy university facilities company and the University of Eastern Finland, and it is part of a demonstration project of university facilities that develops the use of university facilities.
