It’s like something out of a pulpy sci-fi novel. Unsuspecting people are enticed to part with their hard-earned dough in the neighborhood grocery store after they’re exposed to some magical musical notes. And while the notes aren’t exactly the mesmerizing tones that captivated audiences in “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” there truly is a bit of marketing sorcery going on. In short, the powers that be who choose the background music that plays in your local supermarket have only one thought in mind: They want you to buy more stuff. And you will buy more stuff if they’ve chosen the right tunes.
A study conducted in the early 1980s by the American Marketing Association revealed that stores that play music, and slower music at that, tend to sell more groceries. If people’s shopping experiences are leisurely, they’ll load up their carts with all and sundry. The right music is such an effective sales tactic that it can inspire shoppers to spend between 10% (per research from the University of Bath) and nearly 40% more on groceries than they had originally planned.
Given how prevalent in-store music is now, it’s difficult to believe that there was a time when stores like Target didn’t play music at all while people shopped. Nowadays, companies like SiriusXM develop playlists for stores that capture the attention of shoppers. These playlists are highly curated to the local market, with some selections being so good that social media influencers regularly give them a shout-out.
Oldies rule the airwaves
Not all in-store tracks are slow. The playlists are tailor-made to the region and store they’re in. As such, some companies, like Trader Joe’s, embrace a more upbeat selection that has more than a hint of ’80s and ’90s nostalgia in the mix.
Additionally, although many customers actually like having music in the background while they shop, they don’t like to shop against a backdrop of unfamiliar music. Classic R&B, classic rock, and other hits dominate the types of music that stores select, with tunes from the 1960s to 1990s making up most of the playlists.
However, that doesn’t mean that it’s the same track all day every day. The morning tracks often differ from the ones a store might play in the evening, for example. The volume, the pace, and a slew of other factors also play a role in what comes over the loudspeaker when you’re shopping for the ingredients for the bacon, eggs, and cheese sandwiches you’ll make for tomorrow’s brunch. The only thing all the music seems to have in common is that it prompts you to buy, buy, buy.
Limits to music’s magic
Despite how magical the effects of music are in a grocery store, it does have its limits. When people are shopping Monday through Friday, playing music increases sales. On the weekends, not so much. This drop-off is attributed to the fact that during the week, people feel stressed. Going grocery shopping is just one more thing they have to do during a week that’s already chock full of too much to do. That’s when the slow pace of the music does its work. It seems to calm people down enough to make them want to linger in the store, and because they do, they wind up spending more in the process.
But weekends are different. People already feel relaxed, so the effects of the music aren’t quite as powerful. Still, it’s not all a waste. Employees who stock those long grocery store aisles at night have something to rock out to while they restock the bread and jars of natural peanut butter.
