Here’s a subtle but powerful way to influence your customers

All the world’s best brands pay attention to every aspect of the customer experience. From how you are greeted as you step into their stores to your post-purchase experience- everything is by design.

They do this with excellent customer service, store lay-out, and after sales assistance.

But an often overlooked aspect of that experience is the music that they choose to play in their establishments.

Here is how your store music can play a subtle but significant role in shaping customer experiences, behaviors, and ultimately spending habits.

Music and Customer Behavior

Numerous studies have been done showing how music can significantly affect purchasing behavior. For instance, it was found that classical music can lead shoppers to spend more on luxury items while pop music encourages purchases of more common and practical items.

But why does this happen? We won’t bore you with the science but in a nutshell, music significantly affects consumer behavior through its ability to alter emotional states, perceptions of the environment, and ultimately, decision-making processes.

So how can retailers and restaurants take advantage of this?

Strategic Implementation

When choosing what songs to play in your commercial space, there are 3 musical components you can choose to manipulate: Tempo, Volume and ,Genre.

Here is what sort of consumer behavior you can expect from using each component.

Tempo

Tempo is the music’s speed. Research has been done showing that we tend to move faster when fast tempo songs are playing (170-190 BPM) and slower during slow tempo songs (90-110 BPM).

If you want higher energy in your establishment, go with high tempo music (e.g. Blinding Lights by The Weeknd- 171 BPM) and if you want a more relaxed vibe, go for lower tempo music (e.g. sun and moon by anees- 90 BPM).

Volume

The volume is how loud you are playing music in your stores.

You probably already know that playing music that is too loud may cause your customers to spend less time in your stores. Research has backed this up showing that loud music in stores leads to shorter visits by consumers while quieter music encourages longer stays and higher purchases.

When it comes to volume, less is definitely more.

Music Genre

The music genre you select may have unique impacts on your consumers. Research suggests that jazz and lounge music can boost spending, while classical music often results in purchases of higher-priced items.

However it’s still best to select music genres that resonate with your target demographic and the ambiance you wish to create in store.

Conclusion

Music is more than just background noise; it's a powerful psychological tool that you can use to further influence your customer’s shopping experience- leaving them satisfied and hopefully in a mood to spend more!