When at a Mall, why are there different types of music coming out on each floor? This is because the music has to be played differently in each situation to get sales to be doubled. For middle-aged women looking for luxury goods, calm and luxurious jazz music is played, and hip-hop and dance songs are played in casual stores where active young people come. In stores, there are times when you need to create a comfortable atmosphere depending on the time zone, the age of guests, the weather and the season, and music marketing experts, so-called “music stylists” analyze them and formulate a music list.
Beauty Supply doesn’t need the hassle of playing music on a floor-to-floor basis, like a huge mall, but there is a music marketing method that owners will find interesting, if they know their store’s peak time, the weather, and the main age group of the customers. What kind of playlists do music stylists fit into certain situations? The basic concepts are summarized below.

By Time: Peak Time and Downtime

Experienced managers and owners can feel when customers will rush in after an hour or two after opening the store. Usually, customers often come during lunchtime or in the evening after work, and whenever that happens, they can change the store music and turn it on to increase sales.
Music stylists say that you need to know how to distinguish between music that increases customer turnover rate and music that creates a relaxed atmosphere and opens customers’ wallets. They point out that stores should play fast and cheerful music during peak times to induce a quick purchase, and that they should play relaxing music that opens the wallet of a customer who is mulling over whether to buy or not during downtime.
Mr. L, who has been running Beauty Supply in South-central Texas for about 20 years, said he now knows when the peak time will be, and he changes the music to settle down and stay focused.
“I can sense that the peak time is coming. When I feel that, I first change the music in the store to settle down and pull myself together. I’ve been interested in store music for a few years now, and the music makes me full of energy when I’m busy, and it makes the customers active and buy things as well. I think it definitely works.”
In fact, there is a lot of research that proves the experience of Mr. L. Music marketing is already a proven fact among experts, and there are a lot of studies conducted by various universities and marketing companies.
To introduce some meaningful research, if you put fast tempo music in a store at 4-6 o’clock, which is peak time for many people, retail stores have a sales increase of about 10%. This is because guests spend an average of $40 more per person when the music that suits the atmosphere comes out.
In other words, slow-tempo music such as jazz and R&B should flow out during leisurely shopping times, and fast, stimulating music such as rap music and trendy pop music should flow out during crowded times.

Customers by Age, 10~20s and 30 ~ 40s

Mr. C, who operates three stores in the southeast, says that each store has a distinct age group of customers.
“This store (No. 2) is definitely located in a downtown area, so it attracts young age groups, and most of the guests who visit come in during a date or are teens that came to our store for the first time. On the contrary, the first store has a lot of regulars, so they are a bit older. In line with this, the interior of the store and the placement of items are a little different. I turn on music that suits the age of the customers, too. The pop music that’s coming out right now here doesn’t come out over there (Store 1).”
The main age group of customers is what music stylists’ value next to time. For young customers who are trend-sensitive and easy to buy out of impulse, they need to play their favorite music to draw them in the store again next time. Because they are a customer base that easily leads to increased sales once they become regulars, more thoughtful and careful selection is needed.
It is also a good idea to play K-pop, which is rapidly spreading recently, and you should mainly play genres that are currently the mainstream of the music market, such as hip-hop, reggae, and EDM. There are also studies that show that teens walk faster by an average of 10 seconds to fast music, and purchase decisions become two to three times faster.
On the other hand, music stylists say that the middle-aged customers are not significantly affected by music. In other words, the most effective music for them are quiet, non-disturbing ones. In other words, if you turn down the volume as much as possible and play music such as classical music, jazz, and R&B that is comfortable to listen to and induce them to shop naturally like water flowing, their purchase rate will be the highest.

Seasonal Music, Cool Music in Summer! Warm Carol Songs in Winter

The weather and seasonal music do not seem to have a significant impact on beauty supply stores, but ‘Seasonal Songs’ are worth paying attention to. The seasons when seasonal songs are played the most are summer and winter, and stores seeking summer specials or year-end specials need songs that suit the mood.
In the weeks before summer, it is important to play summer music such as Samba, reggae and house genres that are cool and light for the summer to make customers feel like they have come on vacation. If you create a good atmosphere with music, you can encourage the purchase of summer braiding hair and water-related items.
On the other hand, in winter, it is necessary to play carol songs or warm movie music aimed for Christmas or holidays at the end of the year. The reason is that the sales of children’s toys and party supplies that can only be sold on Christmas are determined by the atmosphere. Experts said that in fact, department stores that have seasonal items and sell them are using this method.