What's Your Store Sound Like?

I was scoping out my competition the other day when I realized the jewelry store I was in was actually playing the “Top 40.” A song got into my head and I found myself humming the damn tune all day. I just couldn’t get rid of it. I was singing in the car, (while annoying my husband to death), at home while cooking dinner, and even until I got up to bed. I started to realize…that was one of the first jewelry stores I’d ever been to that played mainstream music. I started to question how it affected me…Did I want to shop more or because the music was a little faster did I not linger as long as I would’ve with slower paced music?

We all know that music affects our mood, but can you use music to enhance sales?

I started to research this very question, wondering what type of music is ideal for a jewelry store…no luck finding that answer on the net but I found some interesting facts that I want to share with you all. Across the board, every site I visited and every expert’s advice was to have some sort of music in your retail environment; Stating, silent retail environments make customers nervous. After reading the “experts” advice let me know what type of music you play in your jewelry store and how you think it affects your customers.

Entrepreneur Magazine says:

1. Slow-tempo music encourages consumers to linger. So slow music is a great strategy for a gift shop or an apparel retailer, where the longer shoppers are in the store, the more they buy. (I’m guessing this means jewelry too)
2. Matching the music to your product ups sales. If you’re looking to encourage sales of, say, French wine, research shows that playing French music significantly boosts sales.

Mr. A Sivakumar a guest columnist for Retail Biz reveals:

1. Music is a key environmental factor that affects shoppers.
2. The loudness of the music & song length also makes a difference.
3. Music affects shopping time perception.
4. The contrast from Entrepreneur: Conventional wisdom says, “Time flys when you’re having fun.” But the type of music could mediate this. Therefore, very conscious efforts must be made by retailers to select music based on its listener responses and familiarity as well as its other qualities. Individuals listening to familiar music will be more aroused and spend more time shopping than individuals listening to unfamiliar music. This makes it imperative for the retailer to choose the familiar music that is in tune with the consumers from the primary trading area. (Possibly, the reason the fine jewelry store I stopped at was playing the “Top 40” and not slow paced Jazz or Classical like most jewelry stores)

What kind of “Mood Music” gets your customers to shop more?