Title: Music motivates impulse buyers, not thoughtful shoppers
Headings: Music motivates impulse buyers, not thoughtful shoppers
In Brief
Music motivates impulse buyers, not thoughtful shoppers

Content: Music motivates impulse buyers, not thoughtful shoppers
In Brief
Music motivates impulse buyers, not thoughtful shoppers
November 2005, Vol 36, No. 10
Print version: page 17
2 min read
Cite this
Dingfelder, S. F. (2005, November). Music motivates impulse buyers, not thoughtful shoppers. Monitor on Psychology, 36 (10). http://www.apa.org/monitor/nov05/music
Comment: People who tend to make unplanned purchases spend even more freely when shopping in the presence of background music, while contemplative shoppers buy slightly less than usual when music is playing. However, when a pleasant citrus smell pervades a store, non-impulsive buyers spend more, while impulsive shoppers spend less, reported Maureen Morrin, PhD, at APA's 2005 Annual Convention. All types of shoppers purchase less than usual when in the presence of both scent and music, perhaps due to sensory overload, Morrin's as-yet-unpublished research indicates. "This could be a caveat for managers--don't throw everything you have at your customers," says Morrin, a psychology professor at Rutgers University in New Jersey.