What Kind of Music Makes
Customers Spend More in Wine Shops?
An article tucked
away in a consumer behaviour journal provides an insight into the
way our purchasing decisions can be subtly influenced by wine
retailers.
The article was
called “The Influence of Background Music on Shopping Behaviour:
Classical Versus Top-Forty in a Wine Store.” The research was
conducted in a large US city and tested the background music
(classical versus Top Forty) in a centrally located wine store over
a period of two months.
Classical music was
played one day and Top Forty was played the next day. The two types
of music alternated each day.
The music played in
the classical collection was:
> The Mozart Collection,
> Mendelssohn Piano Concerto #2,
> My Favorite Chopin, and
> Vivaldi - The Four Seasons.
The music played in the Top Forty selection was:
> The Traveling Wilburys: Volume 1,
> Fleetwood Mac: Behind the Mask,
> Robert Plant: Manic, and
> Nirvana.
In order to qualify
as being “Top Forty” the recordings had to be one of Billboard
Magazine's top forty albums and have a single in Billboard's top
twenty singles list in the six months prior to the study.
The volume of the
music was held constant across both types of music.
An observer counted
all the wines where the subjects:
· Stopped to read the shelf label for more than three
seconds,
· Pointed to the bottle on the shelf, and/or
· Touched the bottle on the shelf.
The observer also
counted the number of items handled. In order to qualify as being
“handled”, a bottle must have been pulled from the shelf by a
customer.
The observer
recorded the number of bottles purchased, the shelf location of the
items purchased, and, since he had access to the register, the total
dollar amount of each customer's purchase.
Results
There was little or
no impact of background music of either type on the:
> Number of shelf items examined,
> Number of items handled, or
> Number of items purchased.
Background music
did, however, influence the
amount of money shoppers spent. Classical music produced a higher level
of sales that Top Forty music.
The findings showed
that rather than influencing patrons to purchase greater quantities
of wine, the classical music led them to buy more expensive bottles.
If consumers
associate wine consumption with prestige and sophistication, then
Top-Forty music the research thought that it may provide an
incompatible cue, communicating a more common, less refined
environment.
This explanation
suggests that retailers could devote considerable attention to the
symbolic meaning underlying each purchase experience. If consumers
are seeking sophistication, then in-store cues must suggest, and
even facilitate that experience. The same holds for other sought
shopping experiences like excitement, relaxation, etc.
Conclusion
This research found
that patrons spent more money in a wine store when classical music
rather than Top Forty music was played in the background, though the
number of shelf items examined, handled, and purchased, and the
amount of time spent did not vary by music type.
The findings
regarding the impact of background music on total sales and the
number of items purchased suggest that, rather than influencing
patrons to purchase greater quantities of wine, the classical music
induced them to purchase more expensive wines.
Interesting, isn’t
it?
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