Some people become really obsessed with the soundtrack of retail spaces
by Delaney Baumer
I love shopping at Zara. And I like the music in their stores. I am, to be sure, not obsessed with it. But others are. When researching the music piping through the speakers in their stores, I came across many different playlists on Spotify, a music streaming service. They are created by consumers trying to mimic the real Zara playlists to have in their everyday lives. Here are three different playlists I found:
They have everything from pop to soft EDM music. These songs are not overwhelming and create a relaxed environment in what could become a crowded store. The wide variety of music in these playlists suggests that Zara’s soundtrack consists of songs from each genre, allowing almost every person to connect with a song during their experience. One playlist (far right) is even made to mimic a Zara in Greece, showing the consistency with their branding around the world. They enjoy their experience in Zara stores so much that they want to be able to have that feeling wherever they go, so they make a playlist to do so.
Shopping in a retail space is an everyday experience for a majority of people. Usually they don’t even pay attention to the environment they are in. In almost every retail space there is music being played and odds are the customers are familiar with the songs they hear. Bertil Hultén, of Linnaeus University Marketing, found that familiar music has a positive influence on consumers and their buying. Music sets the mood and transforms the shopping experience; it creates a mood that matches the atmosphere of the store and the customers tastes while covering up the trivial noises of a typical store (workers helping customers, cash registers, moving hangers on the racks). The music is supposed to make the customer buy more, instead of overwhelming them.
Michael Beverland, Elison Ai Ching Lim, Michael Morrison, and Milé Terziovski are researchers in the Department of Management and Marketing at the University of Melbourne and Monash University studying the relationships between in-store music and consumer-brands. They have proven that “certain music types are more appropriate for certain stores and mismatches can have negative results”, reinforcing that the music can have a drastic impact on whether or not they gain/retain customers. A cohesive fit between the atmosphere and the brand is crucial.
All retail spaces have to select music that best fits the desired customer experience. Hultén suggests in-store music has a positive effect on customer’s cognition, emotions, and purchasing behaviors. Because of this the music must also be in line with other atmospheric variables, such as lighting, product placement, and staff. These all play a role in the way the customer perceives the brand. If they do not fit together to accurately represent the brand, customers may become confused and create a negative perception of the store, damaging future relationships. A customer said she recognized an inconsistency in the way she perceived a brand through the music they were playing. She believed the music went against the shop’s core values which made her question their intentions and authenticity as a brand.
Clothing stores have the freedom of choosing how they want customers to perceive them. From the floor set to product placement and the music, everything can be manipulated to have the best outcome. In-store music reinforces perceptions of the brand made by previous customers, while enticing new customers to come into the store creating new relationships. In an interview with a customer, she mentioned how in-store music is a necessity for brands because it can get the customer in the mood for shopping. She said the right music must be played for the brand to distinguish itself from others by having their music represent the products as well as the brand overall. A store must be unique in the way it presents itself through music because it creates a pleasant experience that is memorable when building relationships and brand equity.
Some genres of music send a message that the store is marketing for a certain age group. One customer said that if she were to walk by a store playing loud disco or rap music, she would think it was too young for her and would even presume that the products are poor quality. Stores not only have to think of the fit between music and atmosphere, but also who they intend to market to, and if it is attracting the right customers. Every customer perceives music in a different way, whether it reinforces past experiences, shapes new perceptions about the demographics and quality, or creates a fit between the products themselves.
Misfit relationships can create counterfactual thoughts about the brand. One customer, who has shopped at a certain store before and likes their clothes, mentioned that the music they were playing did not fit the clothes one would come out wearing from the store. Even though she enjoyed the song on its own, she felt like she was in a “trash shop” because the music was more aggressive than it should have been. These thoughts can turn customers away in fear of having the same experience again. This is not the way the brand wanted to represent itself, but the music choice made it that way.
In-store music misfit can also alter the perceived value and desirability. A store that is marketed for men that is playing a Britney Spears song was proven to have turned away a male customer. He said it was “not the type of shop that I would shop in”. Even though he loves the brand, he would drop them because of their music choice. The music in stores challenges customers’ perceptions of the store and the type of people they are when deciding where to shop.
Misfit does not always have a negative outcome. A customer’s perception of a seemingly “older” brand was challenged when she heard “young, cool” music. She had never thought of this particular store as being a place she would shop. Seeing the young female workers wearing the clothes completely changed the way she thought about the brand. She had always thought of the brand as being highly priced, but now her perceptions of the brand are that it has lower costs because it targets a younger age group. This was not the intention of the brand, but they gained a new customer through positive repositioning.
Zara is a store that has clothing for almost everyone. They have a women’s, men’s, and kid’s selection all with the same music being played. Their clothes are hip and trendy and are appealing mostly to women roughly ages 15-45. The music suggests this is their target audience as they play pop and soft EDM from the top charts over the years. Their music is so enticing to customers that they even create playlists to match those of the ones played in the store. The music shifts from the soundtrack of the Zara stores, to the soundtrack of the customer’s lives through these playlists. Spotify allows them to listen anywhere and everywhere they wish in order to capture those same feelings of being in a store that they love listening to the music they love.