Does Christmas Music Affect the Way we Shop?

Does Christmas Music Affect the Way We Shop?

By Molly Weinfurter

Every year, Christmas music seems come sooner and sooner, often much earlier than people would like. But what is the reasoning for it? Sure, it sounds as if it would be good profit, but then again, is it really beneficial to be playing Christmas music before listeners are even ready to hear it? According to incomics.com, in 2014 there were radio stations there were already playing Christmas songs on October 24th. It is only a matter of time before it becomes even earlier.

But how does this early Christmas music affect us as consumers? Christmas is definitely a time of year when people spend the most, so it would be assumed that customers may be influenced to buy more simply by listening to Christmas music in a store. However, a study about early Christmas music in stores on psychologytoday.com states “Compared to those listening to pop songs, consumers who heard Christmas music provided lower evaluations of the store on every dimension, including their overall impression of the store”. It may not seem like the music playing while a person is shopping can ultimately affect their shopping experience, but clearly subtle items such as early Christmas music truly can impact people as well as cause their demand for those specific stores to decrease.

However, playing Christmas music is not necessarily always a bad thing. Despite the time of year, this type of music tends to give a cheerful vibe to listeners whether they realize it or not. Psychology Today states that “Using these data to suggest that Christmas music causes greater spending is like saying that increased ice cream consumption in the summer is the reason more people wear shorts”. But even so, there will always be certain individuals that despise Christmas music, whether it is early or not. So yes, Christmas music could cause sales to increase for select customers, but starting it too early will always cause other individuals to turn away in disgust. And the sad thing is that most Americans do not even listen to Christmas music. According to the chart below from Pandora, less than 20% of each state’s population is listening to Christmas music, which really does not seem like a huge amount at all. While stores could use a substitute such as playing a mix of Christmas and pop music, they tend to either go all out Christmas or none at all. Therefore, while Christmas music may seem very cheery, stores really need to consider the effects that it can really have on all of those people who really do not get into the Christmas spirit, especially when it is played way too early.

Barnes, Tom. “Statistics Prove That Utah Officially Loves Christmas Music Much More

Than Anyone Else” Music.Mic N.p. N.d. 09 Dec. 2016.

Macdonald, Claire. "The Economics of Christmas Songs: When to Start Playing Jingle

Bell Rock?" The Economics of Christmas Songs: When to Start Playing Jingle

Bell Rock? N.p., 2014. Web. 09 Dec. 2016.

PsychToday. "Does Christmas Music Make Us Buy Less?" Psychology Today. N.p., n.d.

Web. 09 Dec. 2016.

Share this post