Proper Music Improves Food Sales In Restaurant, Random Top Hits Hurts: Study (Part I)
Daunfeldt said if right music is played, it results with positive effect on sales and customers spend more on desserts, sides and other such items. If wrong music is played, customers get alienated and restaurants end with selling significantly less.
He added the perfect playlist compromises a good mix of well-known as well as less-known titles and those too follow mixture of what’s popular within restaurant’s theme too.
In another study conducted earlier by Oxford University found traditional music helped the curry restaurants set mood for diners and it also made the food taste hotter to customers.
Further research adds fast beats, high-pitched sounds and distorted notes enhances chilli peppers’ heat sensation and hence boost spiciness of food by about 10 percent.
Meanwhile, a McDonalds spokesman said music is a part of their effort in increasing sales. The other areas that helps in making customers spend more are lighting, seating layout, colors, materials as well as menus. All these are ways to eke the money out of food and drink lovers.
Most of the food giants work carefully in deploying the best seasonal menus to up the sale like the famous one is “Do you want fries with that?” These are just psychological tricks which are followed strategically.
The latest study reviewed a total of 2,101 customer surveys at sixteen locations of the food giant. It also studied about 1.8 million unique transactions. This is considered as world’s largest-ever analysis on music in commercial setting.
Soundtrack Your Brand co-founder Ola Sars said subconscious brain of humans is very critical.
Daunfeldt said this is probably the coolest research that he has done in his life where music helps in increasing sales significantly.
For food giants a proper team is deployed to research how to drive sales, but for small restaurants it is suggested to play music that deemed thoughtful and not the mainstream music, which in fact hurt sales. It is also advised to make the area music-free rather than playing random scroll of top hits.
