Every retail outlet is looking for the keys to increased consumer spend once customers pass through their doors and research from ParcelHero could boost sales by 38%.
The home delivery specialist carried out research which shows that playing the right kind of music for shoppers can encourage them to up their spend before exiting.
High Street stores have a clear advantage over their online competitors as many websites, through design or out of inherited programming, greet browsers with the sound of silence.
According to ParcelHero's Head of Consumer Research, David Jinks M.I.L.T.: "In the 1990s, web stores had to face the music after consumers turned against background sound. Web sites that played music got a bad rap and many sellers stopped using sounds altogether.
"The music used on sites in the early days of e-commerce came on automatically, and often rather loudly and suddenly. This was bad for anyone stealth-shopping at work, while loading any kind of extra content, such as 'muzak', slowed early websites almost to a halt."
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"Music and ambient sounds play a significant role in encouraging shoppers to linger and buy items."
But before you go and dig out your favourite old school tunes to blare them out to shoppers, beware that certain items go with different genres.
Jinks goes on to explain "The music licensing company PPL PRS claims 66% of UK adults say that the type of music a shop or business plays influences what they buy. For example, other studies have shown that when French music was played in a wine store, French wines outsold German wine, and vice versa when piping in German music. The customers were completely unaware of music’s influence on their product choices.
"Classical music can also encourage people to spend more in upmarket stores and restaurants, while PPL PRS says 35% of shoppers are likely to treat themselves to extravagant clothes if pop music is playing."
Alexandra Carr, PR & Communications Manager for PPL PRS notes "Playing music in store can have a real benefit to both the customer and the employees who work there. Our research shows that consumers enjoy hearing music whilst they shop and socialise, and certain genres of music can influence their spending habits and the time they spend in the establishment.
"ParcelHero’s latest research also revealed sound can give websites one big advantage over High Street stores. 9 out of 10 people told us they want to see product videos with sound on retailers’ sites, providing they can choose whether to play them or not."
