Sam Page
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The difficulty of buying sensory products online is fading.

Emerging tech and AI2 min readSam Page

Nowadays AI assistants can help to bridge the gap.
I actually enjoyed using this tool. Here's why...

I recently saw a post by Nick Cropp from Jo Malone London about their new online scent assistant.
So I thought I'd give it a go.

Buying aftershave, perfume or candles online is... well, usually a bit of a gamble. You obviously can’t smell the screen.

In the past, I would start reading the descriptions, and then usually give up, telling myself I'd have to find time to go to the shop.

But this tool was actually pretty good at helping me navigate the project range.

To be honest, it’s essentially just a simple LLM chatbot trained on their product range. It’s not trying to do anything overly clever.

But it works pretty well.

It asked me a few normal questions, cut through the noise, and gave me a recommendation I actually felt confident buying.

And confidence is the most important factor in turning intent into action.

We talk a lot at 7DOTS about the "messy middle" - that chaotic space where customers have intent but get stuck in the details.

For considered purchases, that gap can be huge. Especially when you can't physically touch, smell or experience the product.

It’s easy for digital leaders to get distracted by the shiny new tech. But the real win here isn't the AI itself. It’s that they used technology to give a customer, me, more clarity online.

We're helping several clients with tools like this. If you're interested to explore how technology / AI can solve some of the challenges your customers face with your digital experience, get in touch! We'd love to help.

Has anyone else tried a tool like this recently that actually felt helpful rather than gimmicky?

First published on LinkedIn.

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GEThttps://sam-page.com/thinking/the-difficulty-of-buying-sensory-products-online-is-fading.mdtext/markdown; charset=utf-8

---
title: "The difficulty of buying sensory products online is fading."
url: https://sam-page.com/thinking/the-difficulty-of-buying-sensory-products-online-is-fading
date: 2025-12-29
author: Sam Page
type: Post or article
categories: [Emerging tech and AI]
reading_time: 2 min
summary: "Nowadays AI assistants can help to bridge the gap. I actually enjoyed using this tool. Here's why..."
first_published: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn%3Ali%3Ashare%3A7411323085599031296
---

# The difficulty of buying sensory products online is fading.

Nowadays AI assistants can help to bridge the gap.  
I actually enjoyed using this tool. Here's why...

![](https://sam-page.com/img/thinking/the-difficulty-of-buying-sensory-products-online-is-fading-li1.webp)

I recently saw a post by Nick Cropp from Jo Malone London about their new online scent assistant.  
So I thought I'd give it a go.

Buying aftershave, perfume or candles online is... well, usually a bit of a gamble. You obviously can’t smell the screen.

In the past, I would start reading the descriptions, and then usually give up, telling myself I'd have to find time to go to the shop.

But this tool was actually pretty good at helping me navigate the project range.

To be honest, it’s essentially just a simple LLM chatbot trained on their product range. It’s not trying to do anything overly clever.

But it works pretty well.

It asked me a few normal questions, cut through the noise, and gave me a recommendation I actually felt *confident* buying.

And confidence is the most important factor in turning intent into action.

We talk a lot at 7DOTS about the "messy middle" - that chaotic space where customers have intent but get stuck in the details.

For considered purchases, that gap can be huge. Especially when you can't physically touch, smell or experience the product.

It’s easy for digital leaders to get distracted by the shiny new tech. But the real win here isn't the AI itself. It’s that they used technology to give a customer, me, more clarity online.

We're helping several clients with tools like this. If you're interested to explore how technology / AI can solve some of the challenges your customers face with your digital experience, get in touch! We'd love to help.

Has anyone else tried a tool like this recently that actually felt helpful rather than gimmicky?