Retail pointers : Immedia’s music psychologist Dr Vicky Williamson taking it too personally

Taking it too personally ...  Dr Vicky Williamson Immedia's music psychologist

In my previous blog I discussed how music can improve any retail environment, as it demonstrates attention to care and quality and can create a more comfortable shopping experience for the consumer.

This week my real life retail story comprises a cautionary tale about letting individual staff choose their own music. Sometimes this strategy will work well; but not in this case.

I had been working in the centre of town a few weeks ago and as a result was facing a peak time rush hour train filled with exhausted London commuters. So instead I decided to do a spot of impulse window shopping along the high street to pass the time. Once on the high street I realised that I actually needed a few things for the bathroom and cleaning cupboard so I stopped in to a retailer for supplies.

Dr Vicky Williamson / What can science bring to music strategy?

Why Psychology is important to music...


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One question that might be on your mind is what can science bring to music strategy?

My name is Dr Vicky Williamson and I am an academic music psychologist and Immedia’s Scientific Advisor. The aim of this blog is to introduce you to the fascinating world of music psychology; my discipline and my passion, and to demonstrate why this new and exciting science has the potential to take music strategy to a new level.

Psychology is the study of human beings; how we behave, how we feel and how our minds work. Music psychology aims to understand our mind and behaviour with reference to one of our most powerful, regular and unique activities – producing and listening to music.

Music is an essential component of human life. There is not a single known human society on earth that does not use music in one form or another, and our love of music is completely unique in the animal world. Other animals use pitch and timbre to communicate simple messages (sometimes refer to as ‘song’) but we are the only being that engages in creative and spontaneous musical behaviours in order to influence our state of mind and body.

UK retail music strategies and in store media technologies

Q. If you work in a retail group can you tell us which director or manager would be the decision maker on choice and supply of music strategies?

We are setting up a research paper on UK retail music strategies and in store media technologies. So far there has been real help and encouragement from Bruno Brookes of Immedia http://immediaplc.com/ - can you help also? Send to Will Corry   will@themarketingblog.co.uk  

Some retailers are getting their music strategies wrong. Wrong enough to send shoppers heading for the exits. By Bruno Brookes

Bruno Brookes - A Point of Sale | Immedia

According to a 2009 Institute of Sales Promotion (ISP) study, every year an eye-watering £25.6 billion is spent on point-of-sale material.

That includes £14.4 billion on plastic and cardboard promoting the ubiquitous BOGOFs (‘buy one get one free’ to you and me).

Why do I mention that statistic? Because I believe a lot of these billions pumped into visual displays is in fact wasted if retailers don’t also pay attention to sound – in particular, the sound of their brand.

Just as every brand conjures up certain visual images in a consumer’s mind, so it also has sounds associated with it. The sound of a high-street fashion retailer is very different to that of a high-end restaurant, for example. The point is, many brands are leaving ‘their sound’ to chance.

Often it depends on what members of staff decide to bring in from home, or which local radio station the store manager happens to prefer. This gives little thought to the impact sound has on shoppers: is what they’re hearing making them linger or head for the door? Is it creating an atmosphere that encourages them to buy? Is it – coming back to the ISP study – making them notice all those on-shelf promotions?

It’s a scientific fact that the eye follows the ear. It means sound is the most effective way to engage shoppers on the move, and a good music strategy is a great prompt to get shoppers noticing everything else happening in store.

There’s also a wealth of research showing that the right music strategy delivers tangible benefits, too – from better staff morale to increased sale volumes and more people ‘trading up’ to higher-priced products.

We’ve created this new website to showcase some of the ways those benefits manifest themselves, and how any retailer, large or small, can create a sound for their brand. I hope you find the site interesting. We'd love to know what you think. And if you're looking to create a commercially successful music and sound solution soon, you know where to come...

Bruno Brookes

http://www.immediaplc.com/

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