Influence of Music on Consumer Behaviour: An Experimental Study

Atmospherics of the purchase environment play an important role in influencing customers to make purchases. Music is an atmospheric variable that can be easily controlled and therefore has widespread use in the marketplace. Several companies have been successfully using music or audio branding for their products through advertising. The audio branding in the form of jingles or signature tunes can create the desired memory effect and brand identification. Therefore, a study based on the importance of music particularly in context of brand music would be helpful in understanding its influence on consumer behaviour. An experimental study was conducted that included post-graduate students of Business Management course in a North Indian university. To understand the influence of music congruity on response of customers (cognitive, emotional and behavioural), a withinsubjects experimental design was used. It was found that overall, there was significant difference in the three conditions to which the respondents were subjected. In particular, among the three response dimensions the difference was most significant in the emotional response. The presence of congruent music (related to the brand) significantly influenced the experience of the respondents whereas the difference was not significant in case of no music and unrelated music. The results of the study have several implications for use of music in promotions of brands.