RETAIL STORE MUSIC

"You better shop around..." - The Miracles

As heard at Morrison Jewelers. Free Trial.

Studies Confirm: In-Store Music Improves Retail Sales

Picture the perfect prospect for your business. The shopper most likely to buy. As they walk into your store, they take in the colors, layout, lighting, displays and... the sounds. Music is a key factor in any retail environment, as several studies have shown.

A 1990 study showed that music powerfully stimulates emotions, which lead to behavioral responses. This means music can increase time spent shopping, sales volume and shopper choices (1). A 2006 study confirmed these conclusions (2):

"The mere presence of music has a positive effect on patronage as well as felt pleasure.."

Retail Store Music has a positive effect on shoppers

Familiarity/liking has a positive effect on patronage
Slower tempo, familiar music at a lower volume results in subjects staying marginally longer at a venue than when the tempo or volume are high, or the music less familiar
Higher volumes and faster tempos increase the perceived duration of perceived time duration (customers in a waiting situation judge their wait to be longer than it actually may be)

Shaping a Music Mix That is Uniquely You

The music that we enjoy on our personal time is usually very different from music that is appropriate in a retail setting. When choosing the Brandi Music channels for your retail environment, consider the entire shopping environment (environmental psychology). Test various mixes of music.

Programming grocery store music will differ from clothing store music. With Brandi Music for retail stores, you won't need to build and maintain a music playlist. Brandi lets you blend up to 4 channels of music to customize your own sound. Your choice of music will differentiate your store and your brand from your competitors. It can positively influence a shopper's attitude toward your sales personnel as well as your brand.

...shoppers' liking of music in the retail setting and the perceived fit of music style with the store image positively affected the length of shopping time, which, in turn, indirectly influenced consumers' expenditure.

The studies are saying that well-liked music leads to higher sales volume.

Music Schedules

You streaming music can change throughout the day, automatically. Would you like shoppers to move through your store quickly? Studies show louder volume and faster tempos can help achieve this. Faster tempos can be programmed during busy times of the day and slower music at other times.

Would you like shoppers to spend more time browsing? Use slower tempos and low volume levels. This effect was confirmed in a separate study in 2003 (3). Consider the times of day when this would be appropriate. Brandi Music allows you to build priority music schedules that temporarilly override your default music mix for specific time periods.

Resources

(1) Gordon C. Bruner, Souther Illinois University Carbondale. Study shows that music is a powerful stimulus for affecting moods.

(2) V. Garlin, Francine & Owen, Katherine. (2006). Setting the tone with the tune: A meta-analytic review of the effects of background music in retail settings. Journal of Business Research. 59. 755-764. 10.1016/j.jbusres.2006.01.013. Study shows patrons experience increased pleasure as a result of music, which is perceived as experiencing a high elevation of service and increases tendency to interact with sales staff.

(3) Steve Oakes, University of Liverpool; A.C. North, Curtin University. Study shows show background music tempos result in shorter time perceptions, whereas high tempo music results in longer time perception.