Using Background Music to Affect the Behavior of Supermarket Shoppers Author(s): Ronald E. Milliman Source: The Journal of Marketing, Vol. 46, No. 3 (Summer, 1982), pp. 86-91 Published by: American Marketing Association Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1251706 Accessed: 05/02/2010 13:24 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available at http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp. JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless you have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and you may use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use. Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained at http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=ama. Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen or printed page of such transmission. JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. American Marketing Association is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The Journal of Marketing. http://www.jstor.org Ronald E. Milliman Using BackgroundThis paper critically reviews the literature avail- able and presents an empirical study that exam- Music to Affect ines the effects of background music on in-store shopping behavior. It finds that music tempo vari- ations can significantly affect the pace of in-store the Behavior of traffic flow and dollar sales volume. Supermarket Shoppers ALTHOUGH music is generally thought of as an ically reviews the existing literatureon the subject, entertainmentmedium, it can also be used to and second, it presents the results of a study exam- achieve other objectives. In particular,music is em- ining the effects of background music on in-store ployed in the backgroundof productionfacilities, of- shopping behavior. fices and retail stores to produce certain desired atti- tudes and behaviors among employees and/or customers.For example, backgroundmusic is thought LiteratureReview to improve store image, make employees happier, re- Much of the existing literatureis more directly con- duce employee turnoverand stimulate customer pur- cerned with the effects of music on attitudes rather chasing. than behavior. In many instances attitude measure- Despite the widespread use of music in the mar- ments were taken, then generalizations were made ketplace, research documenting the effects of music about behavior. However, as very aptly pointed out is limited, and the results of existing research are in- by Wicker (1971) and Fishbein and Ajzen (1975), conclusive regarding its effects on consumer behav- attitudemeasures and actual behavioroften show only ior. This is unfortunatebecause music is an atmo- a weak relationship.Nevertheless, most of the studies spheric variable readily controlled by management. cited below measure attitudes or beliefs or at best, Past decisions to use backgroundmusic in the market- intentions, none of which are necessarily correlated place have generally been based more on intuition or with behavior. folklore ratherthan on strong empirical results. In a survey of 336 memberfirms conductedby the The purpose of this paper is twofold: First, it crit- PersonnelResearch Committee of the Administrative ManagementSociety, it was reportedthat a majority RonaldE. Milliman is Associate Professor of Marketing,College of Busi- of corporationsthat provide music for their employees nessAdministration, Loyola University, New Orleans. The author wishes "believed" that this improved workermorale and re- to acknowledgethe valuable suggestions and encouragement given by lieved job monotony (Walter 1971). Another study of thefaculty of the Collegeof Businessat Loyolaand the contributions a similar nature the of 52 retail of his surveyed managers wonderfulwife, Palma, who serves as histireless assistant, critic stores of various These the andeyes. types. managersexpressed "belief" that their customersbought more as a result Journal of Marketing 86 / Journalof Marketing,Summer 1982 Vol. 46 (Summer 1982), 86-91. of the background music (76%) and that the music ducted in two large supermarkets, does not suffer had a positive effect upon the customer's mood from the limitations of the research previously cited. (82%). When the same managers were asked if their The study examined the loudness of music (as the in- beliefs were based upon any actual research con- dependentvariable) and its effects upon shopping be- ducted either by themselves or, in the case of multi- havior. In this case, music was varied from loud to store organizations, by the store's central office, the soft in eight counter-balancedexperimental sessions. response was, without exception, "no" and/or "not It was found that significantly less time was spent in that I know of." In the same study, 560 customers the stores when the music was loud comparedto when of these retail establishmentswere asked if they pre- it was soft, although there was no significant differ- ferredstores that played music, 392 (70%) replied that ence in sales or in the customer's reported level of they did. Additionally, 353 (63%) said that they either satisfaction(Smith and Curnow 1966). "purchasedmore" or "probablypurchased more" in These findings would seem to lend support to stores with background music playing while they Grayston's (1974, p. 38) premise that "the music shopped (Burleson 1979). must fit the situtation in which it is to be used. The A survey of over 200 patrons of a New York area wrong music can produce effects that totally neglect supermarketfound that people preferredmusic play- the objective of the exercise." In view of this premise ing in the backgroundwhile they shopped (77%), and and Smith and Curow's findings, it would seem that this was a sign that the store's managementcared more appropriateto study the effects of various di- about their customers (67%). Furthermore, the re- mensions of music in particularsettings (soft-loud, spondents expressed the "belief" that they would fast-slow), rather than attempt to draw conclusions spend more time in a store with background music about the effects of music in general. The study that than in one without it (Linsen 1975). follows presents further evidence supporting Grays- All three of these studies examined attitudes or ton's statements. beliefs ratherthan behavior, although each concluded with generalizations about behavior. The weak atti- tude-behaviorrelationship observed earliermeans that The Study attitudesare not always a reliable indicatorof behav- This study examines the possible link between the use ior. of programmedbackground music and behavior, spe- Most of the other studies that dealt more directly cifically, in-store shopping behavior. A type of latin with behavior were not related to consumer behavior squareexperimental design with controls was used to and seem to have had difficulty with their experimen- investigatethe effects of three treatmentvariations on tal controls. For example, a study conducted in con- the in-store shopping behavior of supermarketcus- junction with Eastern Airlines claimed turnover tomers. These treatmentswere: (1) no music, (2) slow dropped 53% after the installation of a background tempo music, and (3) fast tempo music. These music music system (Roberts 1959). However, other changes tempo variations were chosen as experimental treat- in the environmentalsetting concurrentwith the in- ments because of a claim made in the sales literature stallationof the music system, such as modified work of a nationallyknown marketerof programmedback- schedules and fringe benefit packages, may have con- ground music systems that music tempo, among sev- tributedto the reduced turnoverobserved. eral other factors, could be varied to affect human another Similarly, study conducted in cooperation behavior. When contacted, the firm refused to pro- with the Mississippi Power and Light Company re- duce researchdata in supportof its claim. Therefore, that ported keypunch operators' productivity in- tempo was selected as the independent variable for creased 18.6% and their errors decreased 37% as a this research to find out whether, in fact, a link ex- result of the installationof a programmedbackground isted between music tempo and human behavior. music system (Ross 1966). Here again, however, the experimentaldesign and related controls were inade- quate to conclude, with a high degree of confidence, Hypotheses that the introduction of background music into the For reader convenience, the three work following hy- environment caused the increased productivity potheses are statedin positive form. The and experimental improved quality of worker output. treatmentsof no music, slow tempo music and fast much of the Thus, controversy suggested in this tempo music will significantly affect (1) the pace of and other authors paper by pertainingto the question in-store traffic flow of supermarketshoppers, (2) the of "can music affect background behavior?" still re- daily gross sales volume purchased by supermarket mains and Crockett (Brayfield 1955; Jacoby 1968;