The appearance of food provides certain expectations regarding the harmonization of taste, delicacy, and overall quality, which subsequently affects not only the intake itself but also many other features of the behavior of customers of catering facilities. The main goal of this article is to find out what effect the visual design of food (waffles) prepared from the same ingredients and served in three different ways—a stone plate, street food style, and a white classic plate—has on the consumer’s preferences. In addition to the classic tablet assistance personal interview (TAPI) tools, biometric methods such as eye tracking and face reading were used in order to obtain unconscious feedback. During testing, air quality in the room by means of the Extech device and the influence of the visual design of food on the perception of its smell were checked. At the end of the paper, we point out the importance of using classical feedback collection techniques (TAPI) and their extension in measuring subconscious reactions based on monitoring the eye movements and facial expressions of the respondents, which provides a whole new perspective on the perception of visual design and serving food as well as more effective targeting and use of corporate resources.

In the current era of a strongly competitive business environment, it is more difficult for companies to attract customers. Consumer neuroscience has growing potential here, as it reveals internal consumer preferences by using innovative methods and tools, which can effectively examine consumer behavior and attract new customers. In particular, smell has a great ability to subconsciously influence customers and, thus, support profitability. This paper examines the importance of consumer neuroscience and its modern technologies used for exploring human perceptions to influence customers and benefit from the aromatization of business spaces. We focused our analysis on various service sectors. Despite the potential of the examined issue, there are a limited number of studies in the field of service providers that use neuroscience tools to examine the effect of aromas on human emotions. Most studies took place in laboratory conditions, and the used methodological procedures varied widely. Our analysis showed that, in spite of the positive impact of aromatization in the majority of aromatized spaces, service companies still do not use the potential of consumer neuroscience and aroma marketing to a sufficient degree. Innovative methods and tools, in particular, are still very underused.

Building a unique USP sales argument (unique selling proposition) through various forms of in-store communication comes to the fore in a challenging competitive environment. Scent as a means to influence the purchase of goods or services has a long history, however, aromachology as field of in-store communication is a matter of the present. This new trend, the importance and use of which has grown in recent years, is the subject of a wide range of research. In order to increase the efficiency of these elements, it is necessary to familiarise ourselves with the factors that affect the customer, whether that be consciously or unconsciously. Consumer neuroscience is addressed in this area. This paper deals with the comprehensive interdisciplinary investigation of the impact of selected aromatic compounds on consumer cognitive and affective processes as well as assessing the effectiveness of their implementation in food retail operations. At the end of the paper, we recommend options for the effective selection and implementation of aromatisation of different premises, by which the retailer can achieve not only a successful form of in-store communication, but also an increase the retail turnover of the store.

The point of purchase is considered to be one of the few communication channels that is not yet saturated, and it has a relatively large potential for the future. A pleasant smell is also part of the shopping atmosphere. How smell affects customer behaviour and purchasing decisions is addressed by a relatively young scientific field, one of the existing kinds of sensory marketing—aroma marketing, otherwise called aromachology. Smell has mainly a subconscious influence; therefore, its examination is appropriate to be carried out using consumer neuroscience tools. This paper examined the perception of the shopping atmosphere in Slovak grocery shops and comprehensive interdisciplinary research on the impact of selected aromatic compounds on the cognitive and affective processes of the consumer, as well as the evaluation of the effectiveness of their implementation in food retail establishments. At the end of the paper, we recommend the possibilities of effective selection and the implementation of aromatisation of different premises, by which the retailer can achieve not only a more positive perception of the shopping atmosphere, but also an increase in retail turnover in individual sales sections.