Places of business where the music has been carefully tailored include restaurants, apartment complexes, grocery stores, doctors' offices, car dealerships and gyms. Music is used to make their customers feel more comfortable, make their workforce more productive or make customers willing to stay on hold just a little longer. A 1991 study by Muzak, the company whose name has become synonymous with programmed music, found that problem-solving improved more than 16 percent in offices with music. Another study by the Gallup Organization for environmental music provider AEI Music found that 86 percent of retail customers say music makes a difference where they shop. And 76 percent of customers choose their favorite stores based on emotional factors, including the music, according to a study by Service Industry Research Systems, a retail market research firm.
Sales show that businesses like what they hear.
People also want to take their shopping experience home with them. Starbucks and Victoria's Secret are two retailers that not only use music to create a mood, but also sell the music at their stores, said Toni Thomas, spokeswoman for Seattle-based AEI Music. They're also matching their environmental music with the programming heard on hold and on their Web sites, she said. The music is selected by the manager of the store and can vary by the types of customers who frequent the store. Plus, the music changes formats to enhance holidays such as Cinco de Mayo and Christmas, he said.