Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

Previous research studying the effect of background music on consumer behavior has used music associated with lyrics and failed to use a no music control condition. Instrumental music (jazz and djembe) was played or not while participants browsed the website of a well-known seaside resort and participants were instructed to select a type of accommodation. It was found that djembe music was associated more with a choice of outdoor accommodation while jazz music was associated with greater interest for hotel accommodation. Both music conditions showed a significant difference from the no music control condition. The ability of instrumental music to prime different memories and feelings is used to explain these results.

Keywords

congruence consumer’s decision influence music website

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Areni

C. S.

Kim

(1993). The influence of background music on shopping behavior: Classical versus top-forty music in a winestore. Advances in Consumer Research, 20, 336–346.

Bargh

J. A.

Chen

Burrows

(1996). Automaticity of social behavior: Direct effect of trait construct and stereotype activation on action. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 71(2), 230–244.

Greitemeyer

(2009). Effects of songs with prosocial lyrics on prosocial thoughts, affect, and behavior. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 45, 186–190.

Guéguen

Jacob

Lamy

(2010). ‘Love is in the air’: Effects of songs with romantic lyrics on compliance to a courtship request. Psychology of Music, 38, 303–307.

Jacob

Guéguen

Boulbry

Selmi

(2009). ‘Love is in the air’: Congruency between background music and goods in a flower shop. International Review of Retail, Distribution and Consumer Research, 19, 75–79.

North

Hargreaves

McKendrick

(1999). The influence of in-store music on wine selections. Journal of Applied Psychology, 84, 271–276.

Wilson

(2003). The effect of music on perceived atmosphere and purchase intentions in a restaurant. Psychology of Music, 31, 93–112.

Yalch

Spangenberg

(1993). Using store music for retail zone: A field experiment. Advances in Consumer Research, 20, 632–636.

Congruency between instrumental background music and behavior on a website

Abstract

Keywords

Get full access to this article

References