An Upbeat Crowd: Fast In-store Music Alleviates Negative Effects of High Social Density on Customers’ Spending |
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| Institution: | 1. BI Norwegian Business School, Department of Marketing, Center for Multisensory Marketing, Oslo, Norway;2. Saatchi & Saatchi, Oslo, Norway;3. University of Siegen, Entrepreneurship in Context, Siegen, Germany;1. Oregon State University College of Business, 2751 SW Jefferson Way, Austin Hall, Corvallis, OR 97331 United States;2. Temple University Fox School of Business, 1801 Liacouras Walk, Alter Hall, Philadelphia, PA 19122, United States;3. Stockholm School of Economics, Sveavägen 65, S-113 83 Stockholm, Sweden;1. Department of Industrial and Management Engineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology, 77 Cheongam-ro, Nam-gu, Pohang, Gyung-buk 790-784, Republic of Korea;2. Department of Industrial Engineering, Seoul National University, 599 Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul 151-742, Republic of Korea;3. IT Convergence based Manufacturing System R&D Group, Korea Institute of Industrial Technology (KITECH), 143 Hanggaul-ro, Sangnok-gu, Ansan, Gyung-gi 426-171, Republic of Korea;1. Department of Marketing, Monash University, Australia;2. Department of Marketing, Faculty of Business and Economics, Monash University, Caulfield, Melbourne, Victoria 3145, Australia;1. Department of Service Management, Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt, Universitätsstraße 65-67, 9020 Klagenfurt, Austria;2. Marketing, Operations and General Management Department, Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (ISCTE-IUL), Business Research Unit (BRU/UNIDE), Av. Forças Armadas, 1649-026 Lisbon, Portugal;3. School of Management & Business, Aberystwyth University, Ceredigion SY23 3AL, United Kingdom;1. Graduate Student, College of Business Administration, Seoul National University, 1 Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul 151-916, South Korea;2. College of Business Administration, Seoul National University, 1 Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul 151-916, South Korea |
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| Abstract: | Research suggests that in-store crowding can lower customers’ spending, thus limiting overall benefits of high store frequentation. Here, we propose that this negative effect can be mitigated by adjusting store ambiance, specifically by using certain types of in-store music. To test this idea, we conducted a longitudinal field experiment in which we manipulated in-store music tempo and measured social density in six European retail stores. Analyzing over 40,000 individual shopping baskets, we found that social density had an inverted u-shape effect on customer spending. This effect was moderated by in-store music tempo, such that fast music strongly increased spending under high-density conditions. The increase in shopping basket value was driven by customers buying more items rather than buying items that were more expensive. Fast music thus alleviated negative effects of social density. We discuss the theoretical implications of these findings and describe how practitioners can use in-store music to counter negative effects of high customer density. |
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| Keywords: | In-store music Social density Crowding Retailing Field experiment |
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