THE IMPACT OF BACKGROUND MUSIC ON THE DURATION OF CONSUMER STAY AT STORES: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY IN MALAYSIA

Abstract

Consumers spend more time shopping and expect value-added options like backgroundmelodious songs, ample car parking, good ambience, prayer halls and rest rooms. The mainconcern is whether these facilities prolong consumers stay in the store and increase businesssales. This research article is about the relationship between the background music tempo andthe duration of consumers’ stay in the stores. Data from 177 respondents were received andanalyzed. The results show that the tempo of music is significantly affecting the emotionalstate of the consumers; fast tempo music increasing the pleasure and arousal levels. Slowtempo music has consumers stay longer in restaurants and supermarkets. However, the tempoof music does not play a significant role in manipulating the duration consumers spend in abook store and apparel shop.Keywords: Background Music; Arousal; Consumer Behavior; Shopping Experience; Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) Model.