Content area
Full text
J. Duncan Herrington: Assistant Professor of Marketing at Radford University, Virginia, USA. Louis
Introduction
Many services marketing plans focus exclusively on some combination of the traditional "marketing mix": product/service, pricing, promotional activities and distribution. Some argue that when marketing services the traditional "four Ps" do not cover all the bases adequately and that services marketers must also consider the effects of personnel, customer service, and physical facilities on customer satisfaction (Magrath, 1988). The impact of service providers' physical facilities (environments) on customer behavior and satisfaction has recently gained the attention of some services marketers (Bitner, 1992).
Within service environments customers can be exposed to numerous stimuli, all of which potentially affect how customers act, what they buy, and their satisfaction with the service experience. Of the multitude of environmental stimuli to which a shopper may be exposed in a service setting, background music has been identified as one of the most readily manipulatable and influential elements (Milliman, 1982, 1986). Research conducted over the years provides some empirical evidence to support the existence of the effect of music, especially in service environments. However, our knowledge of musical effects remains somewhat limited.
The primary purpose of this article is to report the findings of a controlled field study examining the effects of background music on shopping behavior in a traditional service environment: a supermarket. A supermarket environment was selected because most US households shop for groceries at least once a week (Progressive Grocer, 1995).
Unique to this study is a discussion of and test for the effects of musical preference on shopping behavior: a relationship yet to be explored. The research findings provide additional insight into the effects of background music on shopping behavior as well as some important considerations for the design of service environments. The reader should keep in mind that while the data used in the following analyses were collected in a retail environment (i.e. a supermarket), the results may be equally applicable to other types of service settings where customers visit or at least view the service provider's facilities (e.g. offices of health service practitioners, financial institutions, sporting arenas). This article frequently uses the term "store" to denote service environments of all types, retail or otherwise, and the term "shoppers" to denote customers...