Setting the tone with the tune: A meta-analytic review of the effects of background music in retail settings

Among the many in-store elements purported to impact patrons, background music is a leading feature of academic enquiry [Turley LW, Milliman RE. Atmospheric Effects on Shopping Behavior: A Review of the Experimental Evidence. J Bus Res 2000;49(2):193–211.]. Collectively, research examines a range of retail contexts, focuses on many different dimensions, and, uses different methods to explore the phenomena of background music in commercial settings. Therefore, conclusions are difficult on the extent to which the influences of background music on customer behavior are generalizable. The purpose of this study is to synthesize the results of extant research to identify common effects and the circumstances under which they differ. Our meta-analysis uses a sample size of 148, taken from 32 studies. A conservative approach to the analysis reveal small-to-moderate, yet quite robust effects in terms of background music and the dependents: value returns, behavior duration and affective response.