Visual density, defined as the number of identifiable elements per unit area within a visual design, significantly influences consumer perceptions. This study investigates the effects of varying visual densities in pizza packaging, encompassing both food-related and decorative elements, on consumers\' expectations regarding taste and texture, ultimately influencing their purchase decisions. We conducted a controlled experiment where participants were presented with pizza boxes of differing visual densities. Participants rated their expectations regarding the taste and texture of the pizza, as well as their purchase intentions. Additionally, we measured consumption frequency to evaluate its moderating influence on the observed effects. Results indicate that high-visual-density packaging significantly heightened expectations of taste and texture, independent of the element\'s nature-whether food-related or decorative. Enhanced sensory expectations fully mediated the relationship between visual density and purchase intentions. Additionally, high consumption frequency amplified the effect of high visual density on sensory expectations and purchase intentions. These findings contribute to sensory marketing theory by highlighting the importance of visual density in packaging design and the role of consumption frequency. They provide practical implications for food packaging strategies aimed at enhancing consumer experience and satisfaction.

Many casinos diffuse a pleasant ambient scent into their facilities as a customer experience management practice, but the ethics of this scenting process is questionable. Although the effect of a pleasant scent on cognitive, emotional, and behavioral responses has been well-documented, its effect on attention during gambling has yet to be explored. Grounded in the tenets of the top-down control of attention and cross-modal correspondence between vision and olfaction, we conduct two eye-tracking experiments that involve different electronic casino games including video slots and live Cussec. The findings consistently show that pleasant ambient scent prolongs attention and induces more frequent attention to the win/loss areas on the video screen. The findings add to the implications related to responsible gambling by inspiring the stakeholders to consider the use of ambient scent in the gambling environment. Theoretically, the findings offer insights into scent as the catalyst that directs attention to goal-related information, while scent and goal do not need to be congruent in traits.

Auditory branding is undoubtedly becoming more important across a range of sectors. One area, in particular, that has recently seen significant growth concerns the introduction of music and soundscapes that have been specifically designed to match a particular scent (what one might think of as \"audio scents\" or \"sonic scents\"). This represents an exciting new approach to the sensory marketing of fragrance and for industries with strategic sensory goals, such as cosmetics. Crucially, techniques such as the semantic differential technique, as well as the emerging literature on crossmodal correspondences, offer both a mechanistic understanding of, and a practical framework for, those wishing to rigorously align the connotative meaning and conceptual/emotional/sensory associations of sound and scent. These developments have enabled those working in the creative industries to start moving beyond previously popular approaches to matching, or translating between the senses, that were traditionally often based on the idiosyncratic phenomenon of synaesthesia, toward a more scientific approach while nevertheless still enabling/requiring a healthy dose of artistic inspiration. In this narrative historical review, we highlight the various approaches to the systematic matching of sound with scent and review the various marketing activations that have appeared in this space recently.

Packaging color entices and influences consumer perceptions and significantly affects the identification of products. Marketers manipulate the exterior packaging to influence consumer expectations, experiences, and behaviors. Building upon psychological literature on colors and emotions, we explored the influence of food packaging color and food type on consumers\' purchase intentions. Study 1 explored the interaction effects between food packaging color (warm vs. cold) and food type (vice foods vs. virtue foods) on consumers\' purchase intentions. Study 2 examined whether perceived fluency mediates the interaction effect of food packaging color and food type on consumers\' purchase intentions. The results showed that for vice foods, characterized by tastiness but unhealthiness, the utilization of warm-colored food packaging enhances consumer purchase intent. In contrast, for virtue foods that are healthful but lack gustatory appeal, the use of cold food packaging colors will lead to higher consumer purchase intent. Perceived fluency mediates the interaction effect of food packaging color and food type on consumers\' purchase intentions. This study will assist marketers to exploring a range of possibilities for packing color, impacting both the physiological and cognitive dimensions of consumer behavior related to food products, and offering practical implications for market managers.

Gradient colors are widely used in product design. The variation of gradient colors muting a color as a series of steps from bright to dull creates a soft and gradual impression while also affecting people\'s perceptions. This study manipulates the types of gradient colors to explore the relationship between color gradients and perception of stability to determine whether weight perception plays a role. In the case of controlling for aesthetic differences, the study manipulated two types of color gradients (dark colors fading upward from the bottom versus downward from the top) and measured the perceptions of product stability. In the same hue, an upward gradient gives a stronger perception of stability. In addition, gradient colors significantly influence women\'s perception of stability more than men\'s. The study also investigated the mediating effect of weight perception: participants evaluated color fading-upward products with less weight relative to fading-downward colors. Furthermore, dark colors fading upward from the bottom lead to a stronger perception of weight, increasing the stability perception of the object. Finally, to aid future research, we discuss the practical implications of the current findings for areas such as sensory marketing, as well as possible directions for future research.

This narrative historical review considers the various routes to nudging consumers towards drinking more, given self-reported evidence that many people are often not adequately hydrated. This review builds on the related notion of \'visual hunger\'. Interestingly, however, while many desirable foods are associated with distinctive sensory qualities (such as an appetizing smell), that may capture the consumer\'s (visual) attention, it is less clear that there is an equivalent sensory attentional capture by hydration-related cues. One of the other important differences between satiety and thirst is that people tend to overconsume if they use interoceptive satiety cues to decide when to stop eating, while the evidence suggests that people typically stop drinking prior to being adequately hydrated. What is more, the increasing amount of time we spend in consistently warm indoor environments may also be exacerbating our need to drink more. A number of concrete suggestions are made concerning how people may be encouraged (or nudged) to imbibe sufficient water.

Playing ethnic music in restaurants increases consumer experience. Studies show, furthermore, that ethnic congruence of music and food affects food selection but not the liking of customers. An eye-tracking study was completed with 104 participants to uncover if there is an effect of ethnic music on selecting ethnic foods. German, Hungarian, Italian, and Spanish ethnic music was played while participants choose congruent starters, main dishes, and desserts. Results show that visual attention decreased when any background music was played. However, when played, the highest visual attention was recorded during Spanish music. Similarly, the most visual attention was recorded on Spanish dishes. Food choice frequencies showed no differences among the four nations. However, after aggregating German-Hungarian and Italian-Spanish music and dishes, it turned out that participants chose congruent music and food. Choice predictions were also completed on data with and without ethnic music. The performance of prediction models significantly increased when music was played. These findings highlight a clear link between music and food choices, and that music helped participants complete their choices and decide faster.

UNASSIGNED: \"Sonic seasoning\" is when music influences the real taste experiences of consumers. \"Self-construal\" is how individuals perceive, understand, and interpret themselves. Numerous studies have shown that independent and interdependent self-construal priming can affect a person\'s cognition and behavior; however, their moderating effect on the sonic seasoning effect remains unclear.
UNASSIGNED: This experiment was a 2 (self-construal priming: independent self-construal or interdependent self-construal) × 2 (chocolate: milk chocolate or dark chocolate) × 2 (emotional music: positive emotional music or negative emotional music) mixed design, and explored the moderating role of self-construal priming and the effect of emotional music on taste by comparing participants\' evaluations of chocolates while listening to positive or negative music after different levels of self-construal priming.
UNASSIGNED: After initiating independent self-construal, participants increased their ratings of milk chocolate sweetness when listening to music that elicited positive emotions, t(32) = 3.11, p = 0.004, Cohen\'s d = 0.54, 95% CI = [0.33, 1.61]. In contrast, interdependent self-construal priming led participants to perceive dark chocolate as sweeter when they heard positive music, t(29) = 3.63, p = 0.001, Cohen\'s d = 0.66, 95%CI = [0.44, 1.56].
UNASSIGNED: This study provides evidence for improving people\'s individual eating experience and enjoyment of food.

Mindfulness refers to paying attention to the present sensation, attention, and thoughts without judgment and is proven to enhance sensations. Although researchers began to investigate the role of mindfulness in consumer decision-making, few studies pay attention to the impact of mindfulness on the effect of sensory marketing. In the current study, we investigated whether and how mindfulness enhances the purchase intentions of sensory marketing products. We conducted three studies (n = 593) to test our hypotheses. The first study tested the correlation between trait mindfulness and the purchase intentions of sensory ads. The results showed that the level of trait mindfulness and purchase intentions were positively correlated. The second study primed the state mindfulness of participants and demonstrated that high-level state mindfulness enhanced purchase intentions, which was moderated by the number of sensory types. The third study further tested the mental imagery vividness and proved the mediating role of vividness between state mindfulness and purchase intentions. The current study shows the enhancing effect of mindfulness on purchase intentions. This effect is moderated by the number of sensory types and mediated by the vividness of mental images. Our study illustrates the critical contribution of mindfulness to promoting sensory marketing.

This narrative review discusses the literature on contemporary sensory marketing as it applies to hotel design. The role of each of the guest\'s senses in the different stages of the customer journey are highlighted, and the functional benefits (to the guest\'s multisensory experience), and likely commercial gains, of engaging more effectively with the guest\'s non-visual senses, both individually, and in combination, are reviewed. While the visual elements of hotel design are undoubtedly important, the hotelier neglects the non-visual senses at their peril, given the negative effect of poor design on the customers\' overall multisensory experience (and ratings). A number of the crossmodal effects and multisensory interactions that have been suggested to modulate the guest\'s experience of hotels (and resorts) are discussed. Mention is also made of the nature effect/biophilic design and how it is increasingly being incorporated in total design to help deliver on guest/customer well-being; the latter is a theme that has grown rapidly in relevance for those working in the hospitality sector. Taken together, there are numerous opportunities for hotel managers to \'sensehack\' their guests\' multisensory experiences through environmental psychology The originality of this review stems from the analysis of the hierarchy of the guest\'s senses and an explanation of how multisensory interactions affect sensory marketing in the design of hotel experiences for guests.