The goal of this study was to see how background music in a retail setting affected the buying behaviour of the Indian audience. Various factors of music were focused like volume, genre, mood, the familiarity of music on customer behaviour. Another aspect of the study was to find out the other factors that are involved in affecting shopping behaviour through music. The current study focuses on the effect of background music on customers in a retail environment. Then, it's critical to consider how music is utilised as an atmosphere. It has been discovered that customers do react psychologically and behaviorally to music, despite the fact that some of the shoppers are conscious of its presence [1]. When Music is used properly in stores, music may have a good effect on customers as they shop. According to Eroglu [2], music may help to mitigate 14 negative impacts associated with crowding in retail contexts.
Music and Retail
Background music is a mixture of sound that can create a harmonic, united and expressive composition through combinations of beats, rhythm, tempo and timbre [3]. It can refer to various styles and types of music and genres. Background music is generally played on different volumes and its main focus is not to be listened to by the customers or audience. Music is also used in the background of Gyms, offices, and retail stores to produce desired attitudes and behaviours among staff and customers. Background music improves the store environment, makes employees energetic, and stimulates consumer purchasing power [4].
According to Mehrabian and Russell's (M-R) model, people react to their environment in three distinct ways: pleasure, arousal, and dominance [5]. Environmental factors (sights, sounds, odours, etc.) produce an emotional reaction (pleasure, arousal, dominance), which eventually results in approaching resistance (spending, exploration, satisfaction, attitudes). According to Donovan and Rossiter [6] Ref it was really hard to quantify emotional reactions to environmental influences. Yalch and Spangenberg (2000) [7] applied a similar concept to music, specifically familiarity in music, and they found that customers purchased for longer periods of time when listening to less familiar music than while listening to more familiar music. Customers were less excited by new music than by familiar music, and they spent more time shopping when exposed to less familiar background music. Herrington and Capella (1996) [8] in their research discovered that a shopper's spending time and money depends upon their liking of background sound.
Vida [9] stated that "Most of the retailers have known the value of creating atmosphere in their store through creating environmental experience but it is currently less known for music but this market is also growing in the retail sector and customer response". When used properly, music can have a good effect on clients while they shop. Vida discovered that merchants who play planned music in the background are evaluated more positively by patrons than retailers who play unplanned music.
Musical Characteristics and Mood
Bruner [10] discovered that music is a complex collection of controlled factors rather than a simple acoustic mass. Music has a wide range of qualities that come together to form a musical composition and have an emotional impact. Pace, volume, genre, and familiarity are just a few of them. Music has an effect on mood [11], and even a small amount of music has a positive effect on perceived enjoyment. When humans attach non-random emotional meaning to music [12], have non-random affective reactions to music, and then exhibit non-random behavioural responses as a result of music, consumer behaviour occurs.
Effect of Genre, Tempo & Volume
In stores to set up the mood and atmosphere, music plays an essential role in influencing customers. The speed of music depends on tempo which can range from very slow to very fast. Specifically, it's the pace, or tempo, of ambient music which will have the foremost significant effect on shoppers. Changing the volume of music can easily alter the mood of listeners. Pop, classical, Bollywood, and western music are all genres. People of various ages prefer certain genres of music over others. Music/density provides the best shopping experiences. Changing the music's volume can easily alter the mood of listeners.
Genre
There are many types of music, such as pop music, classical, Bollywood and western, and so on, these are classified as genres. People of different ages prefer certain types of music while they dislike other genre music, according to Aylott and Mitchell [13]. As a result of this study they have stated that “One person’s music is 15 another people's noise”. There has been very little research done on music genres up to this point. On the other hand, Alpert and Alpert [14] discovered that sad music elicited the strongest purchase intentions, outperforming either happy music or silence in the store.
In Alpert and Alpert 1986 [15] study, it was found out that happy music can create a soothing and happy environment, while sad or low tempo music played in stores can increase the sales of retail stores. Lin and Wu [16] conducted a similar study in which they discovered the opposite of Alpert and Alpert. The sad music played in retail shops brings more negative feelings in shoppers. Buying a card for a friend while a song with the lyrics "Missing You" plays in the background will have a greater impact on their behaviour [17] (Alpert and Alpert, 1989).
Lin and Wu [16], observed that cheerful music induces good induced feelings, and Broekemier [18] discovered that buyers' inclinations to shop are higher when they are exposed to happy music. Lin and Wu [16] discovered that melody music played in stores brought up negative emotions in customers, in contrast to fast music. Alpert and Alpert's study in 1986 and 1988, and Broekemier [18] found good consequences with cheerful music.
Track Tempo
When compared to music familiarity and loudness, the tempo of a song has a bigger impact on customer emotions [19]. In an experiment conducted in a U.S. supermarket,[20] played various types of background music with varying tempos daily - some fast, others slow. Meanwhile, he tracked the speed of shoppers as they shopped, and recorded the supermarket's total daily profits. Milliman [20] discovered that the speed of instrumental background music has a substantial impact on in-store traffic flow as well as daily total sales volume. According to Milliman research, switching from fast to slow tempo music improved grocery sales volume by 38%.
According to a 1990 collection of Bruner's [21] investigations, slow tempo generates serious, sad, sentimental, calm, and frightening feelings; medium tempo creates magnificent sensations; and fast tempo suggests entertaining, happy, and exciting feelings. According to Eroglu, Machleit, and Chebat [22], slow music/high density and fast music/low density provide the best shopping experiences.
Volume
Consumers' perceptions of time can be influenced by the volume and tempo of background music in a store. Customers remained in the store longer when the music was played at a slower pace and at a lower volume [12]. According to Herrington and Capella's [8] study, the pace and loudness of background music had no significant impact on the sample of customers' shopping time or buy amount. They observed that shop purchases and sales are not affected by loudness or tempo, but rather by the customers' familiarity with the music.
The volume of music, as well as its loudness or smoothness, might influence customers' feelings while shopping. Different degrees of music volume can elicit a wide range of emotions. Lin and Wu [16] discovered that pleasant emotions were enhanced by moderately lower volume, which resulted in increased time spent, in their investigation of audio impacts on consuming emotion and temporal perception. Smith and Curnow [23] discovered that when loud music was played in a shop setting, sales per minute increased. Consumers' perceptions of time can be influenced by the volume and tempo of background music in a store. Customers were perceiving the music for more time when music was played at a higher volume and a fast tempo in their study, so it was less enjoyable and customers were moving fastly [24].
Layering of Atmosphere
The parallel mixing of multiple atmospherics promotes the concept of layering. Bell and Ternus [25] define layering as the use of multiple sensory elements to create a certain atmosphere for the store environment, including simultaneous applications of sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell. When all of these aspects are combined, it has an influence on the customers. According to Vida [9], music must blend effectively with other ambient variables of the environment in order to positively influence customers' perceptions of shopping behaviour. To produce a pleasant effect for customers, various ambience components can be considered where music is one of the factors.
In a retail setting, consistency in aroma and music leads to more positive impressions of the store, its merchandise, and the store environment, according to Spangenberg [26]. According to their findings, not every environmental mixture will attract all 13 shoppers. Vendors should utilise environmental cues rather than two contrasting music and fragrance combinations, according to the researchers. Instead of playing non-Christmas music and spreading a Christmas perfume, a store may focus on only one, or maybe the Christmas scent, at this time of year.
Some of the environmental factors, such as a high temperature, unpleasant music, and intense lighting create a negative impact on customers [27]. Furthermore, applying too many noticeable atmospherics at once may have a negative effect on customers, generating stress, headaches, and frustration, leading to their leaving the store before their designated shopping session.
Retail and shopping
Music is a major component of customer marketing, it can be used as one of the methods to enhance the mood and experience of customers [28]. If the music played in stores is distracting to customers, then customers may be less likely to purchase which contradicts the store's sole purpose of increasing sales. Pleasant and soothing music makes our customers feel at ease and motivates them to stay for long extended hours in shopping malls and stores.
The Indian retail stores are witnessing a rapid change in the market [27]. Bigger companies are focusing on huge Indian middle and upper-class customers with their strategies of retailing and preferences of Indian customers. To attract customers and influence customers buying, environmental cues such as store lighting, background music, colour and visual merchandising are the strongest factors [29] In the organized retail sector like H&M, Zara in advanced nations, it has been seen that great importance is given to the in-store environment.
Retail store managers, to attract customers' attention, plan and change the physical surroundings of their retail stores [30] and stimulate the store environments termed ‘retail experience design’. Retail managers seriously look into experimenting on exteriors, interior placements, layouts of stores, displays, background music and human variables to enhance customer experience and they spend more time in stores [31].
Smith and Curnow [32] published the first study on the effect of environmental alteration on customer behaviour. They varied the loudness of background music and studied the influence on shopping duration, total sales, and environmental perceptions. Kotler [33] coined the term "atmospherics," defining it as an effort to create shopping settings that increase the likelihood of purchase through emotional effects on the consumer.
Music and Mood
Swinyard [34] found links between shopping and mood. His study shows that interested clients in a good mood enjoy a better shopping experience than those in a bad mood. Swinyard [34] claims that concerned shoppers acquire more information and react more strongly to both happy and unpleasant shopping experiences. Consumers with limited engagement were less likely to be affected by mood and were less concerned with overall shopping experience quality.
Familiarity of Music
People can either recall the music or they have never heard it before. It was solely based on their own personal experiences. Either they have never heard the music before, have heard it before but can't remember it, or they are completely familiar with it. Although it has been proven that one's taste in music is influenced by familiar music [35]. Yalch and Spangenberg [36] discovered that when customers were exposed to strange music, time seemed to slow down. According to Yalch and Spangenberg from a recent study in 2000, customers were less aroused when listening to unfamiliar music than when listening to recognised music.
Consumer familiarity with the store's background music had a beneficial influence on patronage, according to Garlin and Owen [19]. Consumers are more inclined to shop in new service locations that play the music they like, according to Broeckmeir (2005). According to Garlin and Owen's findings, when familiar music was playing in the store, individuals stayed slightly longer than they would in a similar venue where the music was unfamiliar. According to this study, familiarity with music benefits customers and thus sales.
Objectives
The purpose of this study is to determine the effect that background music has on the retail manager, customers, and employees. The effect of music's type, familiarity, and volume on the environment of retail stores. Some of the existing research contradicts other claims about tempo and volume. This research will help retail businesses in India in providing a better customer experience.
The main objectives of the research are: To provide knowledge and awareness about music impact to retail store owners, To enhance the customer experience in retail stores and To choose music according to customer base