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Does Background Music in Stores Improve Sales During the Holidays?
As the holiday shopping season kicks into high gear, retailers are turning up the volume on a festive strategy to enhance the overall customer experience: background music. From catchy tunes to classic holiday melodies, the soundscape within retail spaces is carefully curated to influence customer behavior and create a welcoming atmosphere.
Audiosocket, a platform specializing in music licensing, noted that it’s important to understand the psychology behind musical choices. The right background music can create a positive ambiance and influence how shoppers perceive their surroundings, potentially impacting purchasing decisions.
Jukeboxy, a music streaming service tailored for business environments, also believes that “music can change our moods and, in return, influence our shopping behavior.” Uplifting music in particular, like the holiday tunes that pop up this time of the year, can encourage shoppers to “spend more time in a store and browse more items.”
But retailers shouldn’t just play any background music, during the holidays or otherwise — it’s important to come up with a strategy. According to Magnus Rydén, VP of Music at Soundtrack Your Brand, during an interview, “The first thing to do for anyone whose mission is to create a brand sound is to get a clear picture of the brand identity. What are your core values? What are you trying to say to the market through advertising, PR, product design, and your interior?” By creating a soundscape that complements the overall atmosphere, retailers can establish a memorable and cohesive brand image, fostering positive customer experiences.
Even holiday music can help enhance a brand’s image. “Play holiday music that fits right in with the regular repertoire…there’s an incredible collection that retailers can tap into to create a unique and compelling holiday experience,” Rydén said. “Today’s supply of music has over a hundred million songs, so retailers should be able to find a selection of holiday music that fits their brand and guest experience. You can basically find holiday music in any genre.”
According to CNN, major retailers capitalize on the power of holiday music in particular. Industry giants like Walmart and Target strategically incorporate seasonal tunes into their stores, contributing to a festive atmosphere. Classic holiday songs are a signal to shoppers that “it’s time to get those gifts!” according to Matt Katz, the managing partner at SSA & Company.
However, Target didn’t actually start playing background music in stores until a test in 2011. After a successful test at its Minnetonka Ridgedale location, the retailer began adding music as it remodeled locations across the country. According to a company spokesperson, background music is a “fun element” for shoppers. “We use playlists with music that is upbeat, positive and has a playful personality.”
The next step in choosing background music, regardless of the time of year, is to “take a closer look at your customers,” Rydén explained. “What are their demographics, lifestyles, and motivations? What type of music do they listen to? What experience do they expect when walking into your venue?”
Brands don’t necessarily have to play songs customers specifically like, however, because it’s nearly impossible to know that information. Instead, Rydén stated that “when we talk about music that is customer fit, we mean music that’s relevant to your customers — music they understand and can relate to on a general level. This will make your customers feel like you are talking to them and enable them to understand what you try to communicate through the music.”
After a brand better understands its audience, it can start to define its music identity and adapt music to the business. For instance, if a retailer wanted its customers to behave a certain way, such as to stay and shop longer, it might play music with slower tempos, because “when people do things to fast-paced music, they tend to do them faster,” including walking down store aisles.
Rydén also noted that it’s crucial for retailers to remember the employees when picking out music. “A customer might visit a store for 10-15 minutes, but the staff are the ones who will have to spend hours and days listening to the same music,” he said. Playing holiday music, for one, can boost employee morale when done right, creating a positive working environment that translates to enhanced customer satisfaction.
However, it depends on what music the store is playing — holiday playlists are often repetitive, which can annoy workers who have to hear the same songs on repeat. So it’s important to keep “staff happy by adding enough tracks to your playlists,” Rydén explained.
According to Doctor Patrick Alban and author Deane Alban, “Listening to music stimulates the formation of certain chemicals and releases the brain’s ‘motivation molecule,’ dopamine.” Ultimately, most research on background music “points to the conclusion that music does increase consumer spending by improving mood and attitude,” but some music can be better than others, so it’s important to be strategic when choosing what music to play, especially during the holidays.
Discussion Questions
Considering the vast supply of music available, how can retailers personalize their background music to create a unique and compelling experience for their customers, especially during the holiday season? How can retailers strike the right balance between creating a festive atmosphere with holiday music and ensuring that the music aligns seamlessly with their brand identity and values? Can you think of other ways besides background music retailers can stimulate dopamine in customers to enhance the shopping experience and increase consumer spending?
Poll
Loading …BrainTrust
Perry Kramer
Managing Partner, Retail Consulting Partners
Oliver Guy
Global Industry Architect, Microsoft Retail
I am sure in-store music does have an impact. The choice of music, however, is everything. There is a whole psychology behind this and much variation between types of stores and types of experiences. The people I feel sorry for are store associates who often have to listen to the same music over and over, especially during the holiday season!
I think most retailers – and sensbily so – stick with some basic rules: it’s background music, so keep it at a low (tho not indecipherable) volume, and avoid misguided “novelty” numbers (shoppers who prefer Bing Crosby far outnumber those who want to hear some rapper crooning “Pimp my Sleigh, Santa!”) As far as “seemlessly aligning with brand identity”: people can certainly try, but IMHO that may be overthinking it.
In-store music studies have shown to have some influence on customer mood and shopping pace. The measured impact on sales and ROI are debatable, however.
And so retailers must think carefully about the kind of music played in store and whether it fits the brand experience they envision for both customers and employees. Without some guardrails, a free-for-all for anyone with access to the music platform is what they’ll end up with.
It’s interesting that the Target in my town didn’t play music until the store was remodeled last year. What a difference! When the store was quiet it sometimes felt like you were shopping in a morgue. Music definitely helps.
My biz partner, Rich, and I have always said on the sales floor, disco is the sound of money because the beat causes people to stay longer and buy more. Pop music can do the same, so can holiday music when chosen properly.
It’s important that retailers follow ASCAP rules to play music legally, and that the type of music fits the store and the customer. Music services help with both.
That’s because Rich can wear his glitter platform shoes and Chemin De Fir jeans:)
Had to google that! LOL
There seems to be considerable data indicating that in-store music helps sales. Most of the year, I am not aware that music is playing. When the holiday season comes, or several weeks before, my humming tunes in.
But, it doesn’t last long. As Christmas approaches, I morph into Scrooge regarding those Jingle Bells. Please turn them off. And the employees? When I ask them, the response is quite negative.
The statistics do show that music at the right sound level and of the right variety can influence spending and customer behavior. We do find that often retailers fail to look at music with a regional / urban / rural lens and get “lazy” and pick one mix for the entire nation. This can result in a less than optimal investment.
Additionally, I have not seen the results of the impact on store associates. However, a store associate impact study would be interesting as i’m sure a 2-3 hour loop could have a negative effect at some point.
Oh yes, when I was managing store back in the early 1990s, our Muzak tapes were about a 90-minute loop, and all of us on staff went nuts. The selections were good, and the shoppers never noticed the repetition – and at least I had several tapes to swap out. We’d pop in the Christmas cartridge for a day in July just to be ironic.
There is a lot of research on the topic that suggests music very much impacts sales behavior. Some of it is general, such as the effect of holiday music on mass market retailers. What is more interesting is the science or art of matching music generally by retailer based on the retailer’s shopper profile or even demographic or geographic differences in the retailer store network. I haven’t seen good research on that level of granularity.
Music helps put customers in “the zone,” particularly in grocery stores. Stores that don’t have it seem flat.
Though I ‘are’ one…I suggest it isn’t the “psychology” behind the music that’s important, it’s the physics. Every experience people have nets down to the expression of subtle energy, the frequencies involved in the experience. And however perceived, everything does emit energy. If that energy is aligned and “in sync” with the receiver, the desired outcome happens. Music is an arrangement of frequencies.
The big question is, ‘what outcome do you want to see and from who?’ Too often I’ve found the choice of music is what some employee likes, with no thought of the age and preferences of the shopper. And that reminds me of the iconic work of Dr. Morris Massey and his concept of “What you are is where you were when.” I, and many other ‘trainers’ showed his original early-seventies movie a million times at workshops. Absolutely revolutionary at the time in terms of understanding human behavior. Likewise, the music that influences you was playing “where you were when.” I was thrilled to learn his “new” remake of it came out 35 or so years ago! You MUST watch this sample!
If they played more Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin I believe merchandise would fly off the shelf.
Just a suggestion.
Coincidentally this was a dinner conversation in our home last night. I described music in stores as being very much like music in films – I only notice it when it is not there.
I never notice it in Tesco but always notice the silence in Lidl. Lidl are focusing on margins.
Christmas music is always an interesting subject – every year I notice the date in November when I first hear it…. This year was 15th November – a week earlier than last year. How much earlier can it get…
To craft a unique holiday vibe, retailers should first know their brand values and customers’ preferences. Tailor the playlist to match the brand identity, customers’ general taste, lifestyles, and keeping in consideration employee’s preference. Choose holiday tunes that blend seamlessly with the regular music repertoire, creating a festive and memorable shopping atmosphere.
Retailers can enhance the shopping experience by using pleasant scents, offering interactive displays, providing personalized customer service, and incorporating engaging visuals & lighting, good assortment, and right pricing. These elements can also stimulate dopamine and boost consumer spending.
Know your customers. And test, test, test. What’s more, be open to regional variances in what tunes drive sales. What works in Texas may not be the right mix for New York. Can you factor in local artist popularity? Or weather? Or time of day and the demographic that shops at that time?
A tricky question because it depends on the volume level and variety of music and male or female voices. It is usually too loud for me, and I have a hearing impairment. I actually stopped shopping at Walgreens and others because I could not concentrate on shopping. It was that distracting. Some female shoppers will like it and some shoppers will not, and most try to block it out I think. Surveys? I never trusted surveys after I worked in market research for years, conducting and analyzing interviews. Respondents lie, contradict themselves or say what they think you want to hear, even anonymously. Having said that, soft music is pleasing. Not everyone wants rock. The results might also depend on the merchandise or food and time spent in the store.