Can music influence what we buy? To find out, I dove into the psychology of music

"Back in 1997, the researchers stocked an English supermarket with four types of French and German wines, all similarly matched in cost, dryness, and sweetness. For two weeks, the store speakers either played German oom-pah music or French accordion music. North and his colleagues would switch the music daily and measure the effect on sales. Turns out, 83% of wine buyers bought French wine when the accordion music was playing,"

"while 65% of buyers picked German bottles when the Bavarian music was on. North interviewed these buyers as they left the store, but no one claimed the music had an effect on their purchase - yet it clearly did. Is the connection between music and buying behavior still relevant? North's study had some important results, but it's worth noting that this study is almost three decades old and has a relatively small sample size of just 82 people."

A 1997 supermarket experiment found that ambient German or French music shifted wine purchases toward music-congruent bottles, with 83% choosing French wine during accordion music and 65% choosing German under Bavarian tunes. Interviews showed buyers denied musical influence despite clear behavioral effects. A 2017 Montclair State study replicated genre-congruent effects in a cafeteria, increasing sales of Italian or Spanish dishes when corresponding music played. Personal experience and further research indicate music can alter appetite, social behavior, and physical performance: music tripled children's likelihood to help peers, increased gym repetitions by about 50%, and can change emotional responses while reading.

Read at Hubspot