Professor of Marketing and International Business, University of Washington

Abstract:

This paper builds on the concept of atmospherics introduced by Kotler (1973) and studies the effects of different types of music to in-store shoppers of different age and shopping purpose in different time of day.

A field experiment was conducted at a department store. In-store interviews revealed a preference for foreground music, but customers' moods and unplanned purchases were not substantially enhanced by hearing foreground music. However, customers' perceptions of their shopping time varied with the type of music, depending on their age. Younger shoppers (age under 25) felt they spent more time when listening to background music whereas older shoppers (25 or over) felt they spent more time when exposed to foreground music.

The authors suggested that choosing to play store music solely to satisfy customers' preferences might not be the optimal approach. Rather, music should be varied across areas of a store that appeal to different-aged customers. Such factors as age, income, family life cycle, and education of the customers would seem good possibilities for segmentation. Consideration should also be given to varying the music in mornings, afternoons, and evenings and during the week and the weekend.

Publication List:

Title: Memory in a Jingle Jungle: Music as a Mnemonic Device in Communicating Advertising Slogans

Author: Yalch-Richard-F

Source: Journal-of-Applied-Psychology. Apr 1991; v76n2, pp. 268-275

Title: Effects of Store Music on Shopping Behavior

Author: Yalch-Richard; Spangenberg-Eric

Source: Journal-of-Services-Marketing. Winter 1990; v4n1, pp. 31-39

Title: Effects of Store Music on Shopping Behavior

Author: Yalch-Richard; Spangenberg-Eric

Source: Journal-of-Consumer-Marketing. Spring 1990; v7n2, pp. 55-63

TITLE: The effect of numbers on the route to persuasion.

AUTHOR: Yalch,-Richard-F.; Elmore-Yalch,-Rebecca

SOURCE: Journal-of-Consumer-Research. 1984 Jun; Vol 11(1): 522-527

TITLE: To take or not to take the only one: Effects of changing the meaning of a product attribute on choice behavior.

AUTHOR: Kehret-Ward,-Trudy; Yalch,-Richard

SOURCE: Journal-of-Consumer-Research. 1984 Mar; Vol 10(4): 410-416

TITLE: Viewer miscomprehension of televised communication: A comment.

AUTHOR: Ford,-Gary-T.; Yalch,-Richard

SOURCE: Journal-of-Marketing. 1982 Fal; Vol 46(4): 27-31

Title: Viewer Miscomprehension of Televised Communication: Selected Findings and a Commentiewer Miscomprehension Findings Are Measurement Boundn Miscomprehending Televised Communication: A Rejoinder

Author: Jacoby-Jacob; Hoyer-Wayne-D; Ford-Gary-T; Yalch-Richard; Mizerski-Richard-W

Source: Journal-of-Marketing. Fall 1982; v46n4, pp. 12-43 [32 pages]

TITLE: An analysis of a theory of group solidarity with applications to defining power in channels of distribution.

AUTHOR: Yalch,-Richard

SOURCE: Research-in-Marketing. 1982; Suppl 1: 325-334

Title: Consumer Response to Initial Product Trial: A Bayesian Analysis

Author: Scott-Carol-A; Yalch-Richard-F

Source: Journal-of-Consumer-Research. Jun 1980; v7n1, 32-41

Title: The Effect of Experience: A Matter of Salience?

Author: Tybout-Alice-M; Yalch-Richard-F

Source: Journal-of-Consumer-Research. Mar 1980; v6n4, 406-413

TITLE: When eating begets buying: The effects of food samples on obese and nonobese shoppers.

AUTHOR: Steinberg,-Sandon-A.; Yalch,-Richard-F.

SOURCE: Journal-of-Consumer-Research. 1978 Mar; Vol 4(4): 243-246  

TITLE: A test of the self-perception explanation of the effects of rewards on intrinsic interest.

AUTHOR: Scott,-Carol-A.; Yalch,-Richard-F.

SOURCE: Journal-of-Experimental-Social-Psychology. 1978 Mar; Vol 14(2): 180-192

TITLE: Halo Effects in Multiattribute Attitude Models: Some Unresolved Issues

AUTHOR(S): Johansson,-Johny-K.; MacLachlan,-Douglas-L.; Yalch,-Richard-F.

SOURCE: Journal-of-Marketing-Research; 13(4), Nov. 1976, pages 414-17.