How does background music tempo work for online shopping?

Abstract

This research examines the impact of background music tempo, an emotional stimulus, on consumer attitude in online shopping. The authors conducted two empirical studies based on the same experimental design. The results of both studies supported the study’s main hypothesis: background music tempo positively affects consumer arousal. It also suggests that product category moderates the influence of arousal on pleasure such that a positive effect occurs when shopping online for hedonic products but not for utilitarian products. In addition, consumer trust mediates the positive influence of pleasure on purchase intention. The authors also discuss the managerial implications of the empirical results.

Introduction

Online shopping has grown rapidly and gained broad acceptance. US online retail spending reached $43.7 billion in the first quarter in 2011, up 17.6% from the same quarter a year ago. This growth rate represented the tenth consecutive quarter of positive year-on-year growth, except 2009 when the global financial crisis 2008–2009 hit consumer spending (US Census Bureau 2011). Meanwhile, more than 185 million Chinese went online to shop in 2010, representing an increase of 42.3%, from 130 million in 2009. China’s online market was 140 billion yuan in 2008, 267 billion yuan in 2009, and it reached 498 billion yuan in 2010, when it accounted for 3.2% of China’s total retail sales. China’s online shopping market is expected to reach 890 billion yuan in 2011 (China IntelliConsulting Corp. 2011).

Because the online market is very competitive, it is difficult for marketers to seek or achieve price advantage; innovation has become the important strategy to gain competitive advantages. The online environment is different from the physical environment in that consumers search for product information and make purchase decisions in front of the screen. The environment at that moment becomes important because a pleasant atmosphere can induce positive emotions and enhance purchase intention. Background music is one of the important means of creating a pleasant environment and should receive particular attention. Music is an invisible language that stimulates emotions and inner feelings and, therefore, consumer shopping behavior may be influenced by background music. Marketers often use background music matching the visuals to produce better advertising effects (Gorn et al., 1991, Macinnis and Park, 1991). People stay for different durations of time and spend different amounts of money in supermarkets and restaurants under different background music environments (Milliman, 1982, Milliman, 1986). People with low involvement are significantly affected by advertising music on TV (Park and Young 1986). Background music acts as an atmospheric cue that affects consumers.

The influence of environmental stimuli on people’s responses based on environmental psychology theory has been empirically confirmed (Bellizzi and Hite, 1992, Yalch and Spangenberg, 1990). Environmental stimuli affect consumer emotional responses and, in turn, approach and avoidance behaviors. Positive effects of pleasure on shopping behavior have been well recognized. However, the effects of arousal have been found to be inconsistent; they may be positive, negative or even non-existent (Kaltcheva and Weitz 2006). Also, there may be factors having moderating effects on the process of emotional influence. How background music fits the shopping context and how it affects consumers’ shopping behavior need further investigation. On the other hand, consumers perceive more risk under the online shopping environment because of the physical distance between buyers and sellers. Therefore, trust becomes more important in the virtual environment than in the physical environment (McCole 2002). The more trust customers have in an online store, the greater is the purchase intention. The mediating role of trust between pleasure and purchase intention is of interest.

The purpose of this research is to empirically examine the process of the influence of background music tempo on purchase intention in online shopping environment. Situations suitable for playing background music and the mediating role of trust are specifically addressed. Two empirical studies with the same experimental design were conducted to confirm the theoretical framework. The studies, implemented using two independent student samples, covered different sets of hedonic and utilitarian product categories. Managerial implications are discussed. The contribution of this research is to integrate the moderating role of product category and the mediating role of trust in the influence of background music tempo on purchase intention. Results of this research are expected to help marketers design online shopping environments.