Is that the smell … of a home sale?

Real estate agents and homeowners have been doing it for years: taking fresh-baked apple pies or cookies out of the oven minutes before showing a home to potential buyers.

Everyone loves the smell of pie and cookies, right? Buyers walk in, sniff the hint of melted chocolate chips in the air and can’t help but smile. It makes a house seem instantly cozy.

This old home-showing trick may be more scientific than any of us thought. There’s even a name for it: sensory marketing.

Perfume companies have been doing it forever, scenting their ads in magazines with their own fragrances. It’s why so many people sneeze when reading People, Time and Sports Illustrated. (At least I think that’s why.) For marketers, it’s a way to appeal to all of a buyer’s senses. The Scent Marketing Institute estimates that businesses worldwide will spend as much as $120 million this year on scent marketing. The institute predicts that this number will jump to more than $500 million by 2016.

It may seem trite to rely on the whole baking-fresh-bread trick when showing a house. But the people who specialize in sensory marketing say there’s a reason why real estate agents still recommend this trick: It works.

“Aromas of baking are universally well-liked, and have positive associations with home, childhood, grandma’s house, mom’s cooking,” Roger Dooley, author of the blog Neuromarketing and president of marketing and consulting firm Dooley Direct LLC, told Property Crossroads. “These associations could be particularly powerful when choosing a new home.”

There are less wholesome reasons to do this, of course. Some homes – let’s face it – stink. That tray of fresh-baked sugar cookies may be covering up the scent of six cats or the odor of musty carpets.

So homeowners, keep baking those cookies. And buyers, try to sniff out what’s under that delicious smell.

 A final note: Sensory marketing is far from a foolproof science. Late last year, San Francisco bus shelters featured strips that made the shelters smell like chocolate chip cookies for a “Got Milk?” campaign. Unfortunately, the strips triggered allergic reactions in some commuters, forcing the city to tear them down just a day after they went up.