Title: Stores Are Using Music to Make You Spend More | by Erik Devaney | ThinkGrowth.org
Headings: Stores Are Using Music to Make You Spend More
Stores Are Using Music to Make You Spend More
Here’s How
Volume
Tempo
Mode
Genre
Conclusion: Noise Will Be Noise
Final Thought

Content: Downtempo and minor. In other words, people buy more when there are slow sad songs playing in the background. In fact, the slow sad song playlist averaged 12% greater sales than the fast sad song playlist. This 2011 research validated Milliman’s earlier work showing downtempo tracks led to higher sales volume, but it also qualified it: It wasn’t just the tempo. The mode played a role, as customers didn’t buy as much when the music was downtempo and major (i.e., slow and happy). This indicates that there has to be something about that downtempo/minor combination that makes people want to spend. Knöferle et al’s hypothesis: Sadness. “Given that both slow tempo and minor mode are associated with negative affect (i.e., sadness), music-induced sadness may well explain increased spending behavior in a shopping environment.”