Music in Consumer Behavior: The Effect of Background Music on Time Perception for Online Consumers

Abstract

Background music plays an important role in shaping consumer preferences, decisions, and behaviors. While certain characteristics of music have received considerable attention in prior research (e.g., speed, volume, modernity, etc.), there has been limited attention devoted to the role of music genre in consumer behavior. The current research contributes to this stream of literature by empirically manipulating the genre of background music in an online consumer task and measuring consumer behavior. In a pre-registered experiment (N=1,161) online participants were played different genres of a musical composition. Their willingness to pay (WTP) for a variety of hedonic and utilitarian goods was measured, as was their perception of time spent on a task. Unlike past research, the present results shed light on how different music genres affect consumers’ time perception in a retail setting. Following a review of the prior literature on music and time perception in consumer behavior, empirical data are introduced and recommendations are presented for marketing managers and businesses.