Marketing
The role music plays in retail customer experience: Brand ambassador
The start of a new year is the perfect time for retailers to assess and re-evaluate customer experience strategies and where music fits into that strategy. Why? It plays an integral role in the customer’s in-store experience.
February 4, 2025 by Judy Mottl — Editor, RetailCustomerExperience.com & DigitalSignageToday.com
Ola Sars knows music. He was a co-founder and COO of Beats Music, a subscription streaming service, which was acquired by Apple in 2014 (along with Beats Electronics) in a $3 billion deal and transformed into Apple Music.
Sars also knows the power of music and how that power can make or break an in-store retail customer experience.
The Stockholm-based serial music tech entrepreneur, and 2024 Billboard International Power Player, went on to found and currently serves as CEO of Soundtrack Technologies, a music streaming service for business.
Initially developed in a joint effort with Spotify, Soundtrack serves over 80,000 businesses across 74 countries with a music catalog of more than 100 million tracks available for commercial use.
RetailCustomerExperience reached out to Sars in an email interview for his insight on why retailers need to include music as part of the retail customer experience strategy as well as a few invaluable do's and don'ts in crafting a music-inclusive CX strategy.
Q: As we kick off 2025 what is the 'state' of music in retail today — are most retailers using music as part of the retail customer experience strategy or is it just a smattering?
Sars: Business leaders recognize that music in their stores is a crucial aspect of the customer experience. Soundtrack surveyed 150 retail brand leaders and found that 91% affirm that music can make or break their customer experience, and 95% see music as an equally important brand ambassador. Meanwhile, 72% are facing challenges in implementing a consistent music strategy across different contexts and almost half do not understand the legality of music licensing. Music is essential, but there is confusion around implementing it.
The beginning of a new year is the perfect time for retailers to re-evaluate their marketing and customer experience strategies to deploy music, ensuring that the music played in-store is compliant and curated to enhance the brand and the customers' experience.
Using a made-for-business streaming service is the first step forward. Many retailers believe that once they are licensed with a PRO, they can play their consumer streaming service (Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube) but that can create liability. A licensed, B2B streaming platform eliminates risk of copyright infringement by providing a music library cleared for business and commercial use.
AI playlist creation tools save employees time. We see AI-created playlists rising in popularity since they can be tailored to store location, guest demographics and created to match the business's brand. With the right prompt based on the retailer's brand and products, curated playlists are easy to create and to customize for any time of day or season. The leading platforms update their music catalogs and playlists on a monthly basis, meaning employees and customers don't have to hear the same songs over and over again.
Q: How does music impact/affect the customer retail experience – is it about putting them in a happy, relaxed mode which leads to more buying or is it about just being a 'happy place' to shop?
Sars: Research has shown that music impacts customer attitudes and behaviors. According to a study from MRC Dara, 84% of shoppers notice the background music in stores.
Secondly, studies have shown that brand-fit music leads to increased brand satisfaction even when the customer's taste differs from what is playing in the store. Consumers like it when things harmonize with one another, whereas music that doesn't fit the brand blurs the brand image and distorts their shopping experience. Research shows it is actually better to play no music at all than music that doesn't fit products and aesthetics. For example, in an alternative clothing store, playing classical music would be out of place. In a family-friendly toy store, shopping with a soundtrack of heavy metal would likely not match customer expectations or the brand.
The tempo, pace and familiarity levels of music dictate how retail customers move throughout the store. Fast-paced music makes people move faster while the opposite is true for slower-paced songs. Music's tempo affects the perception of time. Fast tempos make people perceive that more time has passed, while the opposite is once again true for slow tempos.
For retail, the musical formula comes down to the idea you do not wish to disturb people who are shopping. At times, playing unfamiliar songs can minimize distraction in their search for something to buy. You may want them to be lost in the aisles exploring products as they wander, and perceive less time has passed. Playing slow-paced and slow-tempo, unfamiliar songs that fit your brand can create a rich customer experience.
The only exception to playing familiar favorites is if there is a long line. In this case, you may want to consider using familiar, still slow-tempo, slow-paced songs to keep the people in line distracted as they wait to check out.
Q: Is music in retail a generational device for CX? Does one segment of the consumer (i.e. Gen X) respond stronger to a retail environment that features music?
Sars: We know that across generations, 55% of shoppers respond positively when a store plays music they like. To create the CX for the generation that your store appeals to, businesses first need to know their audience. Connecting the brand identity to the target customers is key — what is their demographic, psychographic, lifestyle and motivation? These will be the cues that define their favorite type of music, artists and expectations as they enter the business and associate with your brand. If the store sells products to people who are "young," "trendy," "upbeat" and "contemporary," leverage these adjectives in the business music streaming platform to help develop the unique brand sound. Do not focus on specific songs or playlists that customers will 'like' because it's hard to find a song everybody likes. Focusing on the music genre and style that best fits with the brand and customer experience helps to engage your target demographics. When guests relate to the music in the business, it helps them emotionally connect with the brand.
Q: When it comes to the music itself are most retailers bringing in expertise such as yours or relying on store associates' playlists?
Sars: Likely the 72% of brand leaders that are having trouble implementing a consistent music strategy are struggling because they're trying to "do it themselves." Meaning, they may have obtained a PRO license and don't know where to start or may be using a streaming service that isn't designed for business. This doesn't take into account important operations like playing brand-fit music, changing the vibe for morning shoppers versus evening shoppers and explicit lyric filters.
There are several different ways to go about implementing a music strategy, depending on the scale and preference of the business. Here are some examples of how our customers approach music to fit their brands across the retail industry:
- International furniture brand and retailer: This store plays the same music no matter what day/time or which store you visit across the globe, and their selection is controlled by the HQ team versus individual locations.
- U.S.-based national athleisure brand and retailer: Soundtrack builds 12 new custom playlists per month and the retailer allows managers to decide what suits their local target demographic the best.
- Regional, fastest growing coffee chain: Each location's manager and employee team decides what to play for themselves and their customers using the Soundtrack platform.
Regardless of scale or niche, Soundtrack can meet retail business needs. Whether these are needs for expertly curated, ready-made playlists, custom playlists from the AI playlist creator or consultancy for bespoke curation, Soundtrack can help businesses identify what their goals and needs are and help retailers find their sound.
Q: What should a retailer take into account when launching a music strategy? Any do's or don'ts?
Sars: When launching a music strategy, here are a few tips:
- The music you play should always match your brand: Anyone who comes into the store has an expectation of the atmosphere they're entering and whatever in-store music is played should mirror the qualities customers are subconsciously absorbing. Is the vibe comfortable, or is it glamorous? Is what they are hearing consistent with your brand advertising, merchandise and the customers' perception of the business?
- Don't make random choices with your music: Once there is an in-store music style that matches the brand and connects with the target demographic, be consistent. Consistency is crucial to help make customers comfortable and encourages them to stick around and keep coming back.
- Automate what's playing: Specific streaming tools allow users to select playlists days or weeks in advance. Music can be scheduled to match various vibes and shifts, such as a weekend morning at opening, an upbeat afternoon in the semi-annual sales season or at night as the shoppers unwind right before closing. Content-wise, retailers can make choices as to whether they want to play explicit lyrics or not. Scheduling in advance takes one more thing off store leaders' plates and ensures consistency across the brand.
- Always keep it fresh: Update playlists to keep the energy high among staff and keep the customers engaged. Shoppers don't want to hear the same song more than once while they're shopping and associates will thank you for not inundating them with the same 20 tracks each day (especially during the holiday season). Fresh playlists engage return customers with something new while maintaining a consistent brand feel and image.
- Do not forget the copyright laws and don't let employees play their own music on the store's aux cord: The music you play in a retail location must be cleared for commercial use and the best way to ensure this is to go with a B2B music provider that is fully compliant, covers PRO licenses and can provide a certificate with your monthly or yearly subscription. This will help eliminate copyright infringement letters.
To calculate added savings, businesses can compare direct PRO license costs with services that provide everything in a single payment subscription. Small businesses can benefit from this extra perk and have peace of mind they're within copyright law. Larger businesses can see the cost savings when compared to the PRO fee model, which adds up as licenses are directly purchased to cover multiple locations.
About Judy Mottl
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