Sound Over Silence

John Bray

The most obvious changes in retail are things you can see, including signage, displays, features and product accessibility. Those visual elements are important, but music—and sound in general—are key, especially in a garden center. With the unique blend of indoor and outdoor spaces and a range of background noises, it’s easy to neglect music all together, but what you play or don’t play and how you play it can make or break a sale.

“It’s extremely important that all of the different (sensory) aspects are controlled to match the objective of that particular store,” says Tom Krikorian, president of American Music Environments (AME), a company specializing in music and sound for retail spaces. AME understands how music—and even intentional sound placement—can encourage or discourage sales while helping you achieve your overall store goals. And the best thing is that if you do it right, your customers won’t even notice. But if you do it wrong, it can have the opposite effect.

Time in a Bottle
The Journal of Business Research presented an interesting study showing a noteworthy difference between perceived and actual shopping times depending on the familiarity of the in-store music. And, as with most things, perception is everything. The researchers found that, “consumers who listen to familiar music may report shopping longer, but this is more a perceptual distortion (significant effect of music) than actual behavior differences.” That means that familiar tunes may not be the best bet as increased familiarity can increase arousal and awareness while decreasing the shopping experience.

Inversely, the study notes that, “individuals … shopped longer when listening to less familiar music compared with more familiar music.” But what’s even more interesting is that these same customers reported their shopping experience as feeling approximately 40% shorter than it actually was, meaning the time essentially flew by. And that’s a great thing. After all, no one wants to feel like they’ve been shopping forever. But this doesn’t mean that unfamiliar music is a good year-round choice. “Christmas music typically puts customers in a happy mood,” says Jennifer Youngquest, Director of Marketing at English Gardens, “and, therefore, a buying mood.” But maintaining that mood is just as important as creating it.

“We don’t want to detract from the customer experience with unnecessary noise,” continues Jennifer, “We have spent some energy this year upgrading our phone systems so … overhead paging is reduced.” This change allows the background music to play uninterrupted while the customer gets lost in the moment. While you can’t eliminate all background noises, you can minimize the distraction by maintaining a steady soundtrack. Of course, if you asked shoppers about their preference for background sound, they might just shrug, but that’s because music is subtly influential.

Play for What You Get
In a study from the Journal of Applied Psychology, researchers found a strong correlation between type of music played and items sold. These researchers found that French music increased French wine sales while German music increased German wine sales in the same store. Best of all, the customers didn’t notice.

“Taken purely at face value,” the researchers note, “the questionnaire data suggest that respondents were largely unaware of the effect that music had on their wine selection.” This may seem odd, but it goes to show that music often acts on the subconscious.

Of course, if the music is distracting or, even worse, absent, it’s very likely that customers will become aware. “You may not notice (music) when it’s there,” says Jim Kumiega, merchandising manager at Flora Grubb Gardens in San Francisco, “but you sure notice it when it’s not there.” Because nothing is worse than an awkward silence.

Work the Crowd
If you know your customer demographic and you know what you want to achieve, you might be able to narrow down the decade(s) from which to pull tracks. You might even know the overall vibe you’d like to create. But sometimes generalizing isn’t enough. Flora Grubb Gardens remains acutely aware of its customer demographic and adjusts accordingly from one day—or even time of day—to the next. Fortunately, with Rdio—an online social jukebox—running from the central cashwrap, adjustments can be made quickly.

“It’s very important to our brand,” says Jim. “The crux is we kind of have to be aware of what’s going on at any moment, what the vibe is in the store at that time and adjust
for it.”

Yes, studies have shown that music with a rapid tempo can make customers feel rushed or flustered, but at the end of the day, you need to play what works well for your location.

“We have this sort of rock’n roll history in the town,” says Jim about the San Francisco and Bay Area, “so we’re not afraid of things that are a little bit noisier.” More importantly, their customers aren’t afraid either.

Play On
Regardless of what you play, music is critical to the shopping experience because it’s uniquely inescapable.

“The interesting thing about music, if you compare it to graphics and lighting and so forth,” says Tom, “(is) it doesn’t matter where you are, it doesn’t matter whether you chose to listen to it or not, it’s there and you’ll hear it. That’s why audio … is the single most important element.”

But it’s a package deal and intention is everything. The other four senses should always be considered as well, but when you marry sound with everything else, you create the perfect shopping experience and, even better, an on-brand vibe for your store. GP

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John Bray is an author and freelance writer living in the western suburbs of Chicago. He has a background in both creative writing and technical communications and can be reached by visiting john-bray.com or by emailing johnbray.bray@gmail.com.