We’re in a world where every little detail can change consumer behavior.

Even background music has its role, but it’s a delicate balance.

If you get it right, retail managers can have a 10%+ increase in their sales.

If you get it wrong, it’s just noise.

Customers will leave as soon as possible not spending a penny more.

As an audio branding consultant, I’ve seen retail store managers battle with these issues:

• High levels of noise from either the inside (crowd, store operations) or outside (street noise) overwhelm customers. Shopping becomes less enjoyable and they flee the store.

• Music or announcements (on in-store screens/speakers) that are too loud in some areas and too soft in others. Shoppers might even get scared by sudden volume changes.

• Distorted or low-quality audio in the store’s speakers. It would be better not to have any sound under those conditions.

Sometimes they don’t even see it until you point it out!

It’s like that sensation you have where something is odd but you don’t know what.

Well, what about the sound at your store?

At one clothing store, the key measure was changing a ceramic tile floor (a sound-reflective material) into engineered wood (which has much better sound absorption). The noise level decreased significantly turning the store into a more inviting atmosphere. It felt less stressful to shop and customers spent more time browsing at a leisurely pace.

Once you have the sound basics covered, music boosts your physical business. For instance, a study by MoodMedia found that 58% of American shoppers say that music (and scents) are a deciding factor in staying longer at a physical store, and 39% of global consumers say music inside stores lifts their spirits when shopping.

Sound can’t be an afterthought.

So how do we get the perfect retail ambiance — not too loud or soft — and make our customers feel like this?

The weekday symphony vs weekends

Researchers from the University of Bath looked at how pleasant music in supermarkets affects sales on weekdays versus weekends.

They started with a meta-analysis, reviewing existing studies to see how music impacts shopping behavior. They looked at different retail environments and specifically focused on the presence or absence of music.

They used two types of music:

• Background music: which is often described as elevator music. Songs were in major modes, instrumental, and designed not to be overly recognizable or intrusive, blending into the background of the shopping environment.

• Foreground music: popular songs that included vocals, more noticeable and recognizable by shoppers.

This first research showed that music had a stronger positive effect on shopping behaviors during weekdays than on weekends.

They then moved to the real world with experiments in different grocery stores. They played different types of music, or no music (i.e. control group), and observed how it affected sales. They measured customer sales, mental depletion, and impact on emotions and sales.

Specifically, three grocery retail stores in a large European city over 3 weeks showed that the average sales without music were approximately $41,458.62 per day. With the presence of music, the average sales increased to around $45,970.10.

That’s a 10.9% increase.

But then in a second study by the same researchers, when music was played on weekdays the average sales amount was $23.31 per person compared to $14.96 when no music was played.

This is an astonishing 55.8% increase in sales thanks to music.

However, we have to consider the following.

The first study measured total store sales per day, reflecting the overall impact of music on the store’s revenue. The second one measured individual shopper spending, showing how music influenced the purchasing behavior of each customer. And this one only had 407 shoppers.

However, this effect doesn’t happen on weekends.

Why?

People are generally more mentally exhausted on weekdays due to work and other responsibilities. Who isn’t?

Being in this state makes people more susceptible to environmental cues like music. It’s like our mental barriers are lowered and we’re more likely to go with what’s happening around us. So pleasant music improves people’s mood and makes them more likely to engage in behaviors like spending.

But on weekends, people are less mentally depleted and in a better mood already. They’re less influenced by external cues like music because they’re already relaxed and content.

What does this mean for retail managers?

If music has a greater impact on weekdays, retail managers could consider playing licensed music only these days. Customers are already in their happy place on weekends and won’t be influenced by the supermarket’s beats. This could reduce the costs associated with music rights and licensing fees.

Stores can negotiate lower fees with music licensing organizations, as the music is used less frequently.

Retail managers can also review the different customer segments shopping at their store and create more targeted marketing strategies, like the type of music, to adjust to their client’s preferences. Weekends might be better for other initiatives (instead of music) like stands with free food samples that stimulate other senses.

At the end of the day, it’s all about data-driven decision-making in retail. Conducting experiments at the store and measuring the outcomes will help managers understand what works best for their specific store environment and customer base.

Takeaway

The study helps us realize that the effectiveness of in-store music as a marketing tool depends on the day of the week it’s used.

Shoppers are more responsive to music on weekdays and retail managers can adjust the playlist to the days when it makes all the difference.

Music is just one of the many environmental cues that can be used in supermarkets.

Other studies have focused on specific scents (i.e. the smell of fresh bread to create a sense of homeliness), visuals (i.e. red color can create a sense of urgency), and temperature (i.e. comfortable settings to prolong the time customers spend in the store), among many others.

Sensory marketing guides our decisions and behaviors in ways we often don’t consciously recognize.

This makes it even better for business as customers will tend to make more spontaneous and emotionally driven purchases.

One thing is for sure, emotions sell.

We can get to them in many different ways, but managers should take notice the right tunes could be their ticket to ringing up those registers.