I recently read that during 2020 some companies that rely on scents (like Yankee Candle), registered a tremendous increase in negative reviews of their products by customers. They are now linking the situation to the fact that one of the most common consequences of COVID-19 is in the losing of smell and that it is an effect that can last for months or even never recover. That is for sure another aspect that does not play in favor of smell marketing and that we might have to considerate in a short future.

It kinda reminds me of the dystopian collective Blindness in Saramago. I mean how will and can marketing work if most people happen to lose, even temporary, what is necessary to appreciate a product?

Will people who now believe candles do not smell good buy them again? Is it a temporary loss for the company or a permanent one?

There are a lot of interesting questions to reflect upon.

Thanks for your article, I really enjoyed it!