The secret reason why grocery stores always play slow and mundane music

Grocery stores are notorious for playing dull music and bad cover versions off well-known songs

It turns out, there’s actually a reason behind grocery stores’ poor taste in tunes. Matt Gresia, a money and shopping expert with over 3 million followers on TikTok, shared in a video the scientific explanation.

Superstore music is “played intentionally to make you spend more money.”

It may seem a bit of a stretch to correlate music with shopping habits, but here is an explanation.“The elevator music is purposely slower than the human heartbeat which literally gets you to relax and slow down.“

That makes you spend more time in the store and ultimately you’ll spend more money,” the expert said. These claims were also found to be true in a 1982 study conducted by marketing professor Ronald E. Milliman. The study found that music tempo in grocery stores actually does play a role in a customer’s shopping pace as well as the volume of sales.

According to the study, slow music causes shoppers to move more leisurely, which, in turn, leads to them shopping longer and buying more. In fact, Milliman found that a grocery store’s sales volume was 38% higher on days they played slow-tempo music.

Additionally, the volume of music in grocery stores plays a role in how long customers spend shopping.In a study by researchers Cain-Smith and Curnow, they found that loud music led to shoppers spending less time in a store. Meanwhile, soft music had a calming effect on customers, which led to them shopping more slowly, and ultimately, buying more products.

So the next time you find yourself perusing the grocery store aisles to the beat of the background music, know the store has you in mind. In other shopping secrets, one pro shared their secret to finding hidden clearance items at Walmart including clothes for just $1 each. Additionally, a Target fan revealed the exact days you should shop to get the best deals on specific items.

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Adam Regan

Deputy Editor

Features and account management. 3 years media experience. Previously covered features for online and print editions.

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