How Music Makes You Spend
Friday, May 22, 2009
When stores, restaurants or bars pump up the volume on their sound systems it's believed to energize customers -- but it can also inflict hearing damage on employees. Joining us to explain the impact of loud music on shopping is Adrian North, a professor of applied psychology research at Heriot Watt University in England and author of the book The Social and Applied Psychology of Music.
Weigh in: Do you find that loud music influences your spending habits?
Comments [13]
dear mr. shafer, it is the waltz and that it is measured in 3/4. is there any guitarist that has played the waltz. i will be monitoring. thank you eddy
On the shopping segment, you played a song that i would like to put on my ipod. Was it called "Live it Loud"? Who is the artist?
Yes I enjoy beboping around at the A and F establishment. I have even danced with the store clerks.
I top it off with skanky clothes and enjoy my 12 year old's major discomfort.
Mean Mommy Kate
I really hate the pseudo-science of Psycho-Economics. I resent being targeted, tracked, profiled or otherwise attempted to be "sold" ANYTHING. George Orwell's caution about mind control concerning Political Thought is dwarfed by the efforts to sell product in last 30 years...
Visit Abercrombie and Fitch and they have a playlist so you can maintain the complete store experience while shopping on line. Unlike visiting a store in person you do get to turn off the playlist online.
I always shop online and listen to music whenever I shop (or do anything else as well).
I am 23 years old and I really hate Abercrombie & Fitch. However, my boyfriends shops there and drags me with him quite frequently. Surprisingly enough the music actually makes me enjoy the experience. It puts me in a better mood and even though its not my style it sometimes gets me browsing the merchandise!
I was shopping in Macy's and they had one kind of music in the china/crystal department and right next door they had different music in the children's department. They were both too loud and conflicting for a few yards into each department. I complained. They still do it.
Stupid Ikea plays ALWAYS music that my husband and I like...we feel so much like they are targeting us...it's almost creepy.
I would think the loud music does encourage people to by more. Have you ever been driving and heard a rock song you love and then found yourself driving faster. There is something about pounding music that makes us more reckless.
Loud music in stores may be the same thing as loud music in bars. Barowners know that loud music makes people drink more and faster.
The Gap plays loud music constantly. Personally, the atmosphere makes me want to leave without buying anything.
APART FROM THE MUSIC THE LACK OF SUFFICIENT LIGHTING IN THE AF STORE MAKE IT ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO DIFFERENTIATE COLOR SHADES. BUT THAT IS ANOTHER TOPIC I GUESS?
I can't stand loud music in stores where you have to shout to be heard by the sales person. It actually distracts me and I can't focus on shopping. I usually end up walking out of the store w/o buying anything.
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