How music shapes customer experience: tempo, volume and fit
What research says about background music in shops and restaurants, from tempo studies to the wine-shop experiment, and how to apply it to your venue sensibly.
Background music shapes how customers feel, how fast they move and how long they stay, often without them noticing. Research since the 1980s suggests that tempo can influence pace, that music can nudge product choice when it fits the product, and that the overall fit between music and place matters more than any single song. This article summarises the best-known studies, what they do and do not show, and how to turn them into practical choices for your venue.
Why does background music matter at all?
Most people do not walk into a café to listen to its playlist. Yet music is one of the first things they register, along with light and smell. It sets expectations about price, pace and atmosphere before anyone has spoken. Silence is noticeable too: an empty, quiet room can feel tense, and conversations at nearby tables become uncomfortably audible. Music fills that space and gives the venue a character.
What did the supermarket tempo study find?
One of the most cited studies is Ronald Milliman's 1982 work in an American supermarket. Over several weeks he compared no music, slow-tempo music and fast-tempo music. Shoppers moved through the store more slowly when slow music was playing, and daily sales were higher on slow-music days than on fast-music days. Notably, when asked afterwards, most shoppers did not seem to have paid much attention to the music.
The gist is that tempo can influence pace, and pace can influence how much people browse. It does not mean that slow music always increases sales everywhere; it was one store, at one time, with one population of shoppers.
What happened in the restaurant study?
In 1986 Milliman ran a similar experiment in a restaurant. With slower music, diners stayed at their tables longer than with faster music, and spending at the bar was higher during slow-music evenings. Food spending was not the story; the extra time seated, and the drinks ordered during it, were.
That finding cuts both ways. Longer stays are welcome in a quiet wine bar. In a busy lunch spot where table turnover matters, encouraging people to linger can be the opposite of what you want. The lesson is that tempo is a lever, and you decide which direction to push it.
Can music influence what people buy?
Adrian North, David Hargreaves and Jennifer McKendrick ran a well-known experiment in a supermarket wine section, published in 1997 with a fuller report in 1999. The display offered French and German wines of similar price and sweetness. On days when French music was played, French wine outsold German wine; on days with German music, the pattern reversed. When shoppers were asked, few said the music had affected their choice.
The gist is that music can bring related ideas to mind, and those ideas can tip a decision when the options are otherwise close. It is a nudge, not a command, and it works through fit: music that matches the product or the setting.
What should we take from these studies?
It helps to be careful. These are a handful of studies in specific places, decades ago, and later research has not always found the same size of effect. What holds up well is the direction of the findings rather than any precise number:
- Tempo tends to influence the pace of movement and the length of stay.
- Fit between music and place, product or brand tends to matter more than whether people "like" a particular song.
- Awareness is low. Customers often cannot say what was playing, which is why getting it right is the venue's job.
Tempo: choosing the pace of your room
Think about what you want customers to do, then choose tempo to support it.
| Goal | Tempo direction | Typical places |
|---|---|---|
| Browse and linger | Slower, relaxed | Boutiques, bookshops, wine bars, spas |
| Steady flow | Moderate | Cafés, restaurants at dinner, hotel lobbies |
| Energy and turnover | Faster, brighter | Gyms, busy lunch counters, fast-moving retail |
Volume: loud enough to fill, quiet enough to talk
Volume often matters more than song choice. Music that is too loud makes conversation tiring and pushes some customers out early; music that is too quiet disappears under the noise of a full room. A few habits help:
- Set the level when the room is busy, not when it is empty.
- Walk to the quietest corner and the seat nearest the speaker; both should feel comfortable.
- Lower the volume for calm parts of the day and raise it slightly as the room fills.
- Ask a regular customer or a member of staff for honest feedback.
Fit: matching music to your brand and guests
Fit is where most venues can improve. Ask simple questions. Does the music match your interior, your menu and your prices? Would your typical guest expect to hear it here? Does it leave room for conversation, or compete with it? A clinic waiting room benefits from calm, unobtrusive music; a bar in the evening can carry more rhythm and personality. Mood and genre pages, such as jazz, are a useful way to explore what fits before committing.
Lyrics deserve attention too. Vocal tracks can be distracting where people need to concentrate or talk, and some lyrics simply do not suit a family restaurant or a health setting. Instrumental music is often a safer base for background listening.
Putting it into practice with Nova Business
Nova Business offers business playlists curated by Nova for cafés, restaurants, shops, hotels and more, and you can also build your own playlists, for example one for a calm lunch and one for a livelier evening. Because each track in the catalogue is analysed for genre, mood and instruments, it is easier to find music that fits. See the restaurant page for an example, or the Nova Business overview.
Fit also changes through the day. A slower morning, a busier lunch and a relaxed evening often call for different music; our article on choosing music for each part of the day covers that in detail.
Frequently asked questions
Does slow music make customers spend more? Some well-known studies, such as Milliman's 1982 supermarket study, found that slower music slowed shoppers down and coincided with higher sales. The effect depends on the setting, so treat it as a tendency rather than a rule.
What is the wine-shop music study? North, Hargreaves and McKendrick found that French wine sold better when French music played and German wine sold better with German music, while few shoppers said the music had influenced them.
How loud should background music be? Loud enough to fill the room when it is busy, and quiet enough that guests can talk comfortably at normal volume. Check from different seats.
