Customer Case: How Soundscaping Increased Sales
Let’s not beat around the bush with numbers, after all, that’s probably why you’re here. Average purchase value increased by 1.4 %, and the number of highly satisfied customers rose by 3.5 % when we made a subtle change to the sound played in the speakers of a major international brand’s store. But here’s the story behind those numbers and why they’re more significant than they might seem.
This was a spatial audio experiment we conducted together with our client over one summer. The brand in question is an international player with stores that see thousands of visitors daily. Typically, these stores play cheerful, rhythmic background music interspersed with promotional messages about their products and offers.
We wanted to see what would happen, if anything, if we completely removed this upbeat background music and the advertising, replacing them with a calm soundscape. In other words, we deliberately turned down the tempo. Sure, you could achieve a similar effect with carefully selected music, but in this case, we went for a truly tranquil atmosphere.
We usually get great results when we design a tailored soundscape or music concept that fits the brand and space. But this time, we did something different: instead of crafting a custom soundscape, we used an existing “off the shelf” soundscape just for testing purposes. So, to be honest, our expectations weren’t all that high.
We were also slightly concerned about removing the advertising. Especially in shopping centers, in-store ads have been shown to have a clear influence on purchasing behavior. In Finland, too, store audio ads have been found to positively impact the sales of specific products in many cases.
If you’ve read my previous posts or seen one of my talks, you’ll know we always test the effects of spatial sound using long-term A/B testing. That’s exactly what we did here.
I already gave away the results at the beginning. But what made them remarkable was this: the brand’s carefully selected combination of background music and in-store advertising lost in both sales and customer experience to a calming, uninterrupted soundscape (interrupted only by mandatory in-store announcements). In other words, a quieter store atmosphere led to better outcomes than what was thought to be the “ideal” sound environment.
Now, a 1.4 % increase in average purchases might not sound like much. But let’s break that down. Suppose a store sees 1,000 customers a day, and the average spend per customer is €100 (this is hypothetical, we used index values for the analysis, so we don’t know the brand’s actual figures). That’s €100,000 in daily sales. A 1.4 % increase would mean €1,400 more each day. Over a year, that’s roughly €500,000. Half a million, from one store. Multiply that by hundreds of locations, and suddenly that 1.4% turns into a nine-figure number. That’s more than the largest Eurojackpot ever won.
And we can’t forget the increase in customer satisfaction, which contributes to customer loyalty and adds a multiplier effect to the sales growth.
Now I’m already wondering what would happen if we did design a fully customized soundscape tailored to this brand and space—maybe with a subtle integration of advertising audio. That’s definitely worth testing.
So why did these results happen?
Ronald E. Milliman’s research from decades ago already showed that creating a calmer atmosphere in commercial settings can drive better sales. As humans, we tend to sync up with our environment’s rhythm. Slower music or sound makes us move more slowly, and when we move more slowly, we pay more attention to the products and services around us. That has a direct impact on purchasing behavior. It’s all about emotion. We’re creating more pleasant environments where people feel good—and where business can thrive. At least in this case.
Of course, there are environments where the opposite is true, places where faster movement leads to better outcomes, like a busy fast-food restaurant.
Final takeaway: Don’t make noise. Create environments that feel good to all the senses.
