Kevin Hebron
Have you noticed all the times in your life when you’re hearing background music without you even realizing it? If I were to ask you, what is the first place that comes to mind when you hear the phrase “background music?” You would probably say the supermarket. This is probably the place that started using background music for a psychological reason.
There was a lot of money invested and many research cases involved in finding out what kind of music favored shopping. Supermarket chain owners wanted to know what kind of music they could play to make their customers stay longer. The result was that relaxing music was the best one for this purpose, and sure enough, more and more of them implemented this measure and saw their profits rise.
Now, when stores want to sell something like a musical instrument, it is only logical that they use music as well. Music stores usually have most of their instruments on display and they encourage people to try to play them. Some department stores hire pianists, so they can play for customers and make their shopping day even more relaxing.
One of those department stores is The David Jones department store in Melbourne, Australia. They use the services of a pianist on a regular basis to “entertain” shoppers. They believe that it provides a much better experience for shoppers than just listening to a recording through speakers, and they’re totally right!
Live music always creates a pleasant environment for everyone in the store. One day, the hired pianist for the day noticed a familiar face, a senior woman. When he saw her, he jumped at the chance to let her play. This is the reason. Watch:
