A psychologist has outlined how the soundtrack in your local supermarket can shape how much you buy, pointing out that the playlists used during the week are often different from those played at weekends.
If you have ever popped into a store for a few essentials and somehow spent more time and money than expected, that may be by design.
Retail spaces are typically arranged to keep shoppers browsing for longer, using a mix of subtle psychological techniques to guide behavior.
Some of those methods are fairly obvious, such as putting pricier items at eye level or highlighting promotions near the entrance. Others are much less noticeable, including the kind of music chosen to play while people shop.
Psychologist Eloise Skinner said: “The tempo of the music affects how fast we move through the store and our general sense of mood or energy levels.
“Grocery stores also generally pick ambient music over recognizable songs, since ambient music allows us to process the music as part of the background, rather than feeling distracted by recognizable tracks (or becoming aware of the time passing and wanting to finish shopping quicker).”
Recent research on supermarket music has found that the effect is not one-size-fits-all: pleasant background music can boost sales on weekdays, when shoppers are often more time-pressed and mentally depleted, but the same effect may be weaker or absent at weekends. Other studies have also suggested that tempo, volume and genre can change how long people stay in a store, how they feel while shopping and, in some settings, how much they spend.
Skinner also noted that stores do not necessarily use the same audio strategy every day, with music selections often changing depending on whether it is a weekday or the weekend.
She added: “There’s also some distinction between music played on weekdays and at weekends, with research suggesting music has a more positive consumer impact on shoppers during the week.”
Music is only one part of a much broader set of retail tactics designed to influence customer decisions.
The psychologist added: “Making shopping carts bigger can lead us to filling them more, with a subconscious understanding that we haven’t shopped sufficiently if the cart is not full.”
So if you have ever wondered why a regular item suddenly seems to have been moved, that may be deliberate too.
The expert explained: “Frequently switching the layout of the store to increase uncertainty about location of items, and it encourages consumers to engage with new products or ways of shopping.”
That means shoppers often pass many more shelves and displays than they otherwise would while trying to find the product they came in for.
Skinner said: “Most grocery stores are designed with consumer purchasing habits in mind, so even though it might not be a case of wanting us to spend more than planned, it’s certainly a priority to make sure consumers have a fulfilling and feel-good shopping experience.”