The Best Background Music for Retail Stores

Music isn’t just an entertainment tool - it has the power to make us behave and feel a certain way. We’re lucky to work with some of the biggest and best retail brands in the world, from established high-street classics to modern brands doing things their own way. Whether you’re looking to increase customer spend, influence dwell-time, or boost employee productivity, perfecting your music can drive your objectives and make your retail environments sing. 

We’re here with the lowdown on why music in retail is so important, and how to get it right. 

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Contents:

1. Why do I need background music for my retail store?
2. How should I choose the music for my shop?
3. Do I need a music license for my store? How much is it?
4. Can I play Spotify in my store?
5. What kind of music is best for shopping?
6. How can technology help me with the music in my retail store?
7. Charles Tyrwhitt - Case Study

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Why do I need background music for my retail store?

Imagine if you walked into a store and it was dead silent. Pretty weird.

Music is a key strategic tool aimed at improving the shopping experience, influencing consumer behaviour and contributing to the overall branding and atmosphere of the store.  

Here are some of the reasons: 

• Atmosphere and ambience: Background music helps create a specific atmosphere and ambience within the store.
• Brand image: The choice of music can be used to reinforce the brand image and identity of the store. For example, our customers Lucy and Yak came to us wanting “representation of everyone in the sound”, with their brand being so inclusive. As a result, the sound we put together is diverse and eclectic, from soothing contemporary R&B numbers, to upbeat Disco hits from the 80s.
• Customer experience: Music can enhance the overall shopping experience more enjoyable. It can also help distract customers from any potential negatives, like waiting in line or crowded spaces. 
• Influence on behaviour: Believe it or not, but music can really influence customer behaviour, including the pace at which they move through the store, the amount of time they spend browsing, and even the likelihood of making a purchase. We’ve got behavioural science experts on hand if you want to chat about it. 
• Dwell time: Retailers often want to increase the amount of time customers spend in store. Music can contribute to an inviting atmosphere, encouraging customers to stay longer and explore more products. This is even more relevant at seasonal times of year. 

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How should I choose the music for my shop?

This is obviously quite a subjective question, and one that our music team tackles every day with different customers. There’s a lot of elements to consider, for example:

• What market is your store in?
• What type of products are you selling?
• What type of brand are you trying to portray?
• What type of ambience exists in the store?
• Who is your target market?

It’s obviously vital that your shop’s background music matches the brand. If you’re a sophisticated, traditional tailor, you might not want to play heavy rock (although the unexpected does work sometimes in playlist curation). 

Another thing to consider when choosing the music to play in your shop is your business objectives, and how you want your customers to behave. This might vary throughout the day or even the year, but it’s important to remember that music has the ability to make us feel and act in specific ways. 

• Tempo impacts the way we move. Studies have shown that shoppers will match the tempo playing inside a store. When high tempo music is played, consumers spend less time browsing because they move more quickly through the shop. When slower music is played, customers are more likely to browse. 
• Volume also has an impact. Studies discovered that when noisy music is playing in a store, consumers spend less time there, and they spend more time there when softer music plays. Volume that is too jarring can create a distressed response in shoppers. 
• Genre is important. Each music genre impacts customers differently. For example, studies have shown that jazz and lounge music increases the amount of money consumers spend, as well as classical music. A paper published n 2020 found that playing country music in a supermarket resulted in an increase in the purchases of utilities, while classical music had people reaching further into their pockets for luxury items. But, the most important consideration with selecting a genre to play in your store is its alignment with your brand. 

It’s also important to keep your background music fresh, of course for your customers, but also for your staff. There’s nothing worse than hearing the same songs for months on end, so keep staff morale high by keeping the soundtrack exciting. 

We’ve got over 100 regularly updated Startle playlists spanning genres and eras for you to choose from, or we offer a bespoke music profiling service to perfectly match your brand. 

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Do I need a music license for my store? How much is it?

You’ll usually need to get a Public Performance License if you:

• Play recorded music in public or at your business (including background music on a CD, radio or music channel).
• Stage live music events in public (for example, a concert or festival).
• Play live music or recorded music in a theatre.
• Use sound recordings in a theatrical production (including on-stage and off-stage effects).

This obviously covers basically every retail and hospitality business. Music is so important to creating the perfect atmosphere, so it’s only fair that we follow the rules and make sure money is going to the artists. You could also be sued for copyright infringement if you don’t.

If you’re in the UK, you can contact PPL PRS to check if you need a license, or check out their sector page for information more specific to retail stores.

How much your license will cost depends on a few factors, like the size and type of venue you’re looking to play the music in, and how the music is used. Below are some examples of licensing costs, just to give you an idea of what you might be spending. 

For a guide on music licensing, head here.

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Can I play Spotify in my store?

Unfortunately not. 

Streaming platforms like Spotify are great consumer music services that are designed for personal consumption. They’re affordable, easy to use, and often highly personalised. 

But unfortunately, they’re not intended for commercial use. They don’t cover the licenses for commercial use, or ensure that artists, songwriters, composers, recording labels, music publishers and rights holders are properly paid for music played in a business environment. In simple terms, you’d be guilty of copyright infringement, and denying an artist the payment they’re entitled to by using it without the necessary permissions. 

That’s why professional music services like us are here (and we can import your Spotify playlists, if you really love them). 

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What kind of music is best for my store?

This is very subjective, and will vary between every retail brand. But we’ll give you some examples. 

Ever wondered why you’re much more likely to hear classical music in a wine store than top 40 tunes? A study looked at exactly this.

When top-40 music was played, it was found over a 2-month period that classical music influenced shoppers to spend more money. Furthermore, the results suggested that rather than increasing the amount of wine bought, shoppers were more inclined to buy more expensive wine when classical music was played. On average, customers spent over 3 times more in the classical music condition compared with the top-40 condition.

Another very well known study looked at the use of French and German music played on alternate days in a wine store. French music led to French wines outselling German ones, and German music led to the opposite effect. 

And picking the right music isn’t just important for wine stores, of course. An experiment carried out in a flower shop looked at whether love and romantic songs, pop music or no music impacted consumer behaviour. The results showed that the mean amount of money spent was significantly higher in the love songs condition compared with the other two, whereas the pop music condition did not lead to an increase in the amount of money spent compared with the control, no music condition. 

So, it’s pretty clear the impact of having the best background music for your store is. It’s not just an entertainment technique, it makes a real difference on your customer behaviour and spending. 

We can’t prescribe you the best kind of music without knowing about your specific brand and needs. We’re here to help if you need guidance. 

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How can technology help me with the music in my retail store?

The technology you’ll need to play music in your store will depend on the size of your sites and what capabilities you have. 

Firstly, you’ll need somewhere to schedule and manage your background music. Startle Studio is built to be easy - it can equip each site with a set of powerful tools to control the music and atmosphere from just a few clicks, or set up different permissions to leave the site managers doing what they do best. Remember how we said you might need different tempos, volumes, and playlists for different times of the day? This can be overwhelming (especially if you’ve had a sudden rush of customers and need to turn the volume up), but with Studio you can schedule playlists in advance, drag them across multiple days if needed, and you know you’re in safe hands. You can access Studio on your laptop, PC, or phone, so it’s available wherever you are.

It’s also good to note the benefits of using digital signage alongside your background music. Digital signage can also help reduce frustration in waiting times, showcase promotions, and sync with your music to create an even more synchronous brand experience. We manage some pretty awesome digital signage for one of our customers, Schuh. 

Once the music is scheduled, there’s no doubt that the stereo equipment you choose plays an essential role. Your choice of set up might include speakers, amplifiers, and mixers. For example, the Startle player can integrate with Sonos and Chromecast speakers. Chat to an expert about the technology requirements for your stores. 

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The Perfect Background Music - Charles Tyrwhitt

Charles Tyrwhitt had a previous partnership with a UK based music supplier, but the hardware was old-fashioned, hard to update, and created problems with customs when shipping the devices in and out of the US. So when things went wrong, stores were often left without music. This had a clear impact on both the customer and employee experience, creating a void in the stores’ atmospheres.

The story behind the brand's beginnings was an interesting one. Charles Tyrwhitt were the disruptors of a formal fashion bubble that often priced out customers or presented a pretentious, insular front. They wanted to appeal to the everyday man. The man who was often a rebel at heart, and unconventional compared to the traditional customer of Jermyn Street. Their customer was a music lover, an attendee of festivals and a follower of iconic Indie and Rock bands. So, we profiled with this persona in mind, focusing on the best artists and bands in music, both past and present, with a strong, British, rebellious theme.

Charles Tyrwhitt realised that there was power in surprising people and delivering the unexpected. Customers may be adorned in Egyptian cotton shirts and tie-pins, but authenticity and being true to oneself is of the utmost importance. We can all be many things at any given time, even if they are, at surface level, contradictory.

We're looking forward to continuing our work with them, including music revisits to keep their playlists fresh and tech updates to ensure their experience is tip-top. 

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Startle worked closely with us to tailor curate playlists that are perfect for our customers and our store colleagues. They really invested in understanding Charles Tyrwhitt as a brand and used this to create a strong and varying soundtrack that matched our customers shopping habits throughout the day.

-Nicola Wright, Visual Merchandising Coordinator