Effects of employees’ opportunities to influence in-store music on sales: Evidence from a field experiment

Sven-Olov Daunfeldt, Jasmine Moradi, Niklas Rudholm and Öberg, Christina

Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 2021, vol. 59, issue C

Abstract: The effects of in-store music on consumer behavior have attracted much attention in the marketing literature, but surprisingly few studies have investigated in-store music in relation to employees. By conducting a field experiment in eight Filippa K fashion stores in Stockholm, Sweden, we investigate whether it is beneficial for store owners to give employees more opportunities to influence the in-store music. We randomly assigned the stores into a treatment group and a control group, with the employees in the treatment stores having the opportunity to influence the in-store music through an app developed by Soundtrack Your Brand (SYB). The experiment lasted 56 weeks and sales data were also gathered 22 weeks before the experiment, resulting in a total of 4626 observations. Our results show that sales decreased by 6% when the employees had the opportunity to influence the music played in the store, and the effect is driven by a reduction in sales of women's clothing. Interviews with the employees revealed that they had diverse music preferences, frequently changed songs, and preferred to play high-intensity songs. Employees thus seem to make choices regarding the in-store music that reduce sales, implying that store owners might want to limit their opportunities to influence the background music.

Keywords: Background music; Brand-fit music; Music tempo; Consumer behavior; Job satisfaction; Atmospheric cues; Work environment; Field experiment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C93 D22 L81 M31 M54 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:joreco:v:59:y:2021:i:c:s0969698920314247

DOI: 10.1016/j.jretconser.2020.102417

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