When Dallas Pratt worked at an outpost of Aesop in an outdoor shopping mall outside Chicago, one of her and her co-workers’ favorite ways of drawing in new customers was making a concoction they called “sidewalk tea”. They would put a few drops of scented lotion in a cup of hot water, and then they would pour it onto the slab of concrete outside the shop. As the water evaporated, the smell of the lotion would fill the air.

“It drew people in,” Pratt tells me. “They asked questions. They spent time.” And, crucially, they bought stuff.

— Read more in ‘It’s the brand speaking to you’: the scent firms making smells for Subway, Abercrombie and more at The Guardian.

At Vitamin Shoppe, a lavender scent wafts through the air. Stores use air diffusers to pump out lavender essential oils, the company's top-selling essential oil that promotes "calm and relaxation," said a spokesperson. During the holidays, stores switch to a peppermint essential oil.

— Read more in How Abercrombie, Victoria's Secret and Vitamin Shoppe use smell to get you to spend more at CNN.

Select Jewel-Osco and Acme grocery stores in Chicago and New Jersey are rolling out the devices, which will pump the aroma of freshly baked cheesecake into the dairy aisle in an attempt to entice consumers to buy. Executives said they would be measuring the effectiveness of the merchandisers while considering a national rollout.

— Read more in Why Kraft's Philadelphia is pumping cheesecake scent into stores at Chicago Business.