Research summary · Field experiment · 2012
Does ambient scent work in a shopping mall? A controlled field test found no effect
In a regional shopping mall, ambient scent appeared to improve shoppers’ perceptions and emotions only in study designs that left out key controls. Once both sources of bias were controlled, scent had no measurable effect, and it did not change shopping behaviour in any design.
Reviewed by Simon Faure-Field · 7 October 2026 · Based on the published abstract
At a glance
Key findings
- 0behavioural measures changed by the scent, in any of the study designs tested.
- No effecton mall perception or emotions in the design that controlled for both sources of bias.
- Before and aftersurveys of randomly selected shoppers, in both a scented and an unscented group.
The study
Citation and study details
Citation: Teller, C., & Dennis, C. (2012). The effect of ambient scent on consumers’ perception, emotions and behaviour: A critical review. Journal of Marketing Management, 28(1–2), 14–36.
Read the original: doi.org/10.1080/0267257X.2011.560719
- Study typeCritical review and field experimentPeer-reviewed
- SampleRandomly selected mall shoppersSample size not stated in the abstract
- SettingA regional shopping mallScented and unscented groups
- Evidence gradeA: direct field evidenceReal shoppers in a working mall
Method
What the researchers did
The authors reviewed earlier ambient scent research, then tested scent in a working shopping mall.
The paper begins with a critical review of marketing and retail research on ambient scent. The authors note that findings in the field are ambiguous and that many studies have weaknesses in how they measure effects.
They then ran a field experiment in a regional shopping mall. Randomly selected shoppers were surveyed before and after the scent was introduced, in both an experimental group exposed to the scent and a control group. Using the same data, the authors simulated several experimental designs: some controlled for outside influences and for differences in attitudes between the two groups, and some did not. Later researchers have described the study as a replication of Chebat and Michon’s 2003 shopping mall experiment.
Results
What they found
Scent seemed to work only in the less rigorous designs. In the fully controlled design it had no effect, and it never changed behaviour.
The designs that did not control for outside influences, or for attitude differences between the scented and unscented groups, showed a positive effect of scent on how shoppers perceived the mall and on their emotions.
The design that controlled for both sources of bias showed no effect of ambient scent on any of the measured outcomes.
None of the behavioural measures were affected by the scent in any of the designs. The authors question earlier findings on ambient scent in malls and call for more rigour in testing atmospheric effects generally.
Limitations
Limitations
One mall and one experiment, and this summary is based on the abstract.
The result comes from a single shopping mall. It may not apply to individual stores or service settings, where other research has found stronger effects.
This summary is based on the published abstract and university repository records. We have not yet reviewed the full paper, so details such as the scent used, the sample size and the length of the study are not reported here.
A note on the evidence
How strong is this evidence?
Strong as a warning about method, limited as a verdict on malls.
The study’s main value is methodological: it shows how easily an uncontrolled comparison can produce a positive result. It does not show that scent never works in malls, only that this carefully controlled test found nothing. It is a useful counterweight to studies that report positive results without the same controls.
For commercial spaces
What it means for commercial spaces
For a shopping centre, the lesson is to be cautious about claims and careful about measurement. A mall-wide scent competes with many other influences, including individual store scents, food courts and crowding, and its effect can disappear once those are accounted for. Scent is more likely to make a difference inside a single store or service space that controls its own environment. Any business measuring a scent programme should compare like with like: the same days of the week, similar footfall, and a genuine unscented comparison period.
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How to cite this summary
Scent Swirl. (2026). Summary of Teller & Dennis (2012), The effect of ambient scent on consumers’ perception, emotions and behaviour: A critical review. Scent Research Library. https://scentswirl.com/research/teller-dennis-2012-shopping-mall-ambient-scent/ (last reviewed 7 October 2026 by Simon Faure-Field).
This summary is based on the published abstract and the other sources named on this page. We have not yet reviewed the full paper. If you spot an error or know of a study we should add, we would like to hear from you.
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