Report: Mood Matters To Retailers

Retailers have long known music can influence shopper behavior and help brands create an emotional connection with their customers.

According to CNN, stores have different ways of choosing which songs to play on their speakers.

Some, including Lululemon (LULU), let store managers decide. Walmart (WMT) plays its own radio station, Walmart Radio, and DJs select songs. Other companies, including Neighborhood Goods, work with third parties such as Mood Media or Soundtrack Your Brand. Some stores like Costco (COST) don't play music at all.

Danny Turner

Danny Turner creates playlists for some of the world's top retailers and brands to play in stores, restaurants and hotels as the global senior vice president of creative programming at Mood Media.

The company bought Muzak, known for its elevator music, from bankruptcy in 2011. It reaches 150 million consumers every day, including customers at Target, Claire's and jewelry brand Kendra Scott.
It's Turner's job to help set the mood for shoppers in stores — and to find songs that won't drive workers crazy.

Turner said there are some do's and don'ts when deciding what tunes to pick.

He and his team of sound designers look for songs with a "mid-tempo, kind of upbeat, kind of pop thing. We joke about artists that almost seem like they music-design for bopping down the produce aisle at Wegmans."

"Instrumentation should be bright and clear" and avoid minor keys. "We look at tonal qualities of sounds and make sure there's not any sort of bizarre instrumentation or an irritating, repetitive structure," he said. "We don't want to send the associates screaming in the aisles."

Turner said music does have an impact on the in-store experience. He pointed to surveys the company conducted that found that 83% of American shoppers say they like in-store music, including 91% of customers between the ages of 18 and 24.

Consumers say they're more likely to stay in stores for longer if there is music and return to visit, according to Mood Media data. And they will even recommend a friend visit a store if they have a positive experience with the music.

A study conducted by Canadian music licensing company Entandem this year backs this up. The company found that one-third of Canadians say they stay longer in stores because of the music being played.

This year brands closely scrutinized their holiday music. Many radio stations have pulled "Baby, It's Cold Outside" because of sexist lyrics. Mood Media also removed it from its catalog.

This year, Mood Media is pulling "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas" from its holiday playlists because the song includes a lyric about guns: "A pair of hop-a-long boots and a pistol that shoots."

"What you don't play can't hurt you," Turner said.