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.

“It all started with our fried chicken-scented sunscreen launch in 2016, which really kickstarted these PR stunts and the integration of our unmistakable KFC scent into some of them,” said Staci Rawls, KFC’s chief communications officer.

Like the Quarter Pounder candles, KFC’s promotions get people talking every time, and they sell out every time. Rawls attributes this to a social media-driven “rapid-sharing culture.”

— Read more in Why Brands Like McDonald’s And KFC Are Embracing Marketing Gimmicks Like Burger-Scented Candles at Forbes.

To entice auto buyers, insurer Liberty Mutual is running a print ad with a peel-back fragrance strip—the same kind used to sell perfumes. Only instead of citrus and sandalwood, it’s going for that heady and ambiguous cocktail of vinyl and plastic gases that come with a ride fresh off the manufacturer’s assembly line.

— Read more at Why an Insurance Company Created a Scented Print Ad That Releases the ‘New-Car Smell’ at Adweek.