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Sonos is a leading American audio technology company that is best known for pioneering wireless multi-room audio systems, which make it easy for listeners to stream music and other content throughout their homes. The company continues to innovate, creating wireless speakers, home theatre systems, headphones, architectural components, and integrated home audio solutions that revolutionize how people listen and connect to sound.

Music plays a subtle yet crucial role in your customers’ shopping experiences. The rhythm, tempo, and genre of your retail store music define the ambiance of your business and, ideally, leave a lasting impression on your customers.

Most retailers invest significantly in visual aesthetics — the perfect layout, captivating displays, and impressive staging — but often underestimate the power of a well-curated sound experience. Sound, or the lack thereof, is an element of your store’s atmosphere that customers may not actively notice but will definitely feel: studies find that supermarket shoppers 

spend over $8 more per person when uplifting music is playing

Playing the right retail store music not only amplifies your brand identity but also speaks to your target audience, making their shopping experience more unique and enjoyable. This is why understanding how to effectively use music in your retail store can be a game-changer for your bottom line.

This blog post will explore six ways you can use background music to create the perfect sound experience for your customers, including:

Using the right commercial music streaming service

Choosing music that aligns with your products, customers, and brand

Finding the right speakers for your layout

Using tempo and volume to drive traffic flow and purchases

Switching things up to keep customers engaged

Using remote monitoring and management to maintain control

How to amplify your retail atmosphere with Sonos Pro

A photo of a technician on a ladder installing a speaker at a retail store

Create the ultimate shopping experience with background music for your business

Music, when used right, can be a silent salesman, creating a welcoming shopping environment that sways customers’ decisions. Using the right background music helps set the tone for your customers, cement your brand strength, and bring a consistent, familiar atmosphere to every new location.

For instance, the luxury clothing and apparel brand, Faherty, has over 50 locations across the United States. With so many stores, it needs more than displays and decor to establish the laid-back, beachside vibes its customers have come to love. Faherty uses 

 and its extensive library of background music to find the perfect sound and deliver it consistently across each store.

A photo of two people looking at a tablet device and holding a discussion in a retail store with bicycles hanging on a wall in the background

6 tips for getting the sound right in your retail store

Crafting the in-store sound experience that Faherty and other successful retailers deliver is about so much more than pressing play on an app. It’s the harmony you achieve with an extensive music selection, quality speakers, and your ability to easily monitor and control your sound system.

Of course, there’s a lot of planning that goes into your retail sound system before you realize any benefits. To help speed up the process, here are six tips kickstarting your brand sound overhaul:

Streaming music in your store isn’t as simple as it is in your home, primarily because of licensing requirements. Using a catalog of commercially licensed music ensures worry-free streaming for you and payment for the independent artists whose work you use.

Use the right commercial music streaming service

Services like Sonos Backgrounds, Soundtrack Your Brand, or Mood Media provide access to large libraries of licensed music for retail stores and other commercial uses, complete with playlists curated by genre, mood, and retail type.

The music you play in your store should be an extension of your brand. Whether it’s a single genre or a mix, the sound should resonate with the products you sell, the audience you serve, and the experience you want to create. For example, customers are more 

 like jewelry, cologne, or art when classical music is playing in the background.

Choose music that aligns with your products, customers, and brand

Finding music that strikes the right balance takes time — you need to observe your customers to learn their musical preferences and shopping behavior. Next, you experiment with different artists, genres, and volumes to see which combinations produce the best results. This is another reason why it’s so important to have a large catalog of music at the ready.

Speaker quality and placement are crucial to the overall atmosphere in your store. You need speakers to fill your space with high-quality music, and you need to place them so the sound is consistent and clear no matter where a customer is throughout your store.

Find the right speakers for your layout

 can easily fill up to 250 square feet with clear sound, so larger stores or those with high ceilings likely need multiple speakers to create the perfect atmosphere. WiFi-enabled speakers are easy to install and give you a sound system that scales alongside your business.

The tempo and volume of your retail music also have a major impact on customer behavior. Research shows that high-tempo, high-volume music encourages quick movement and faster checkouts, while a 

slower tempo makes customers spend more time browsing

Use tempo and volume to drive traffic and purchases

So, if you offer expensive products like furniture or electronics that require more customer consideration, playing low-tempo music at a softer volume will slow the pace of your customers and give your sales staff more time to work their magic. On the other hand, high-volume stores, like big-box and discount retailers, might opt for louder, fast-paced music to streamline the buying process.

You can also be strategic with your tempo and volume; adjusting the music based on the time of day or nature of sales can effectively drive customer behavior.

Do you like hearing the same music day in, day out? Playing the same tunes over and over can tire out even your most loyal customers and build a lot of frustration in your staff. Finding your brand sound doesn’t mean sticking exclusively to a handful of songs, playlists, or genres — there’s 

Switch things up to keep customers engaged

With the right commercial streaming service, you gain access to a large library of music to keep the ambiance fresh and engaging while still ringing true to your brand. It empowers you to take back your time with curated playlists for any environment. Access to more music also lets you align the sound of different seasons, holidays, or sales events — making the shopping experience more relevant and enjoyable for your customers.

Managing music in a bustling retail environment can be challenging for owners who also have to oversee staff, help customers, and address other operational and administrative concerns. There’s not a lot of time between your daily tasks to manage music or answer questions from staff about your sound system.

Use remote monitoring and management to maintain control

, you can check the music, volume, and speaker settings within each store from anywhere with ease. So you can maintain a consistent atmosphere across all locations without the risk of employee distractions or mishaps. Remote control features also let you empower your most trusted employees by giving them exclusive system access.

A photo of the inside of a retail store with clothing and home items, and an adult and child shopping and having an amusing conversation, with a 3D rendering of a retail store and a screenshot of the Sonos Pro dashboard

expertise in home audio and quality sound

 to the world of business. With the Sonos Pro offering, retailers can access commercially licensed music, high-quality speakers, and a central dashboard for complete control over their sound system. Not only does this offering provide the true Sonos sound experience, but it also simplifies the process of managing retail store music with:

Complete control over a library of commercially-licensed content.

Premium support from a customer success manager.

So, whether you’re a small boutique or a retail chain, incorporating the right music into your retail environment can enhance your customer experience and boost your sales. 

 and start creating better shopping experiences for your customers with a comprehensive sound solution.

*Sonos Pro is only available in certain territories.

A photo of a technician on a ladder installing a Sonos speaker in a retail clothing store, with a view outside to a city street

6 Tips for Creating A Better Retail  Experience with Music

It’s a Friday night and the nine-to-five crowd is just getting out of work. Many of them are looking to go out for a meal with their friends or family to catch up, vent, kick off the weekend, or simply relax and wind down. All that’s left is to pick the right spot. But the question is: what’s the right restaurant for the occasion? The food, pricing, and service quality all factor into that decision, but there’s another key part of the equation — the restaurant’s atmosphere.

There might be dozens of Italian restaurants in the area, but only one of them has the authentic decor and music that brings back memories of that post-college backpacking trip with friends. Or maybe someone wants to celebrate an anniversary at the gastropub where they met their significant other. Regardless of the occasion, the most memorable dining experiences are often tied closely to the ambiance within the restaurant.

 important factor for determining where to eat — more so than recommendations from family and friends, positive online reviews, or even the speed of service. Clearly, curating a great restaurant experience is essential to long-term success.

In this post, we’ll take a look at what goes into creating the ideal atmosphere and how the  music you play is central to this process.

How to create the perfect atmosphere in a restaurant

Provide a visual experience with decor, lighting, and furniture

Establish your restaurant brand with a theme

Elevate the ambiance with background music

How the right background music amplifies your atmosphere

The presence of music makes food taste better

Genre increases both spending and perceived authenticity

Volume determines the quality of the experience

Create the perfect restaurant atmosphere with Sonos Pro

A photo of a member of staff working in a restaurant, inspecting something on a tablet device

Unforgettable dining experiences begin with your restaurant atmosphere

The late chef Anthony Bourdain once said, “I think food, culture, people, and landscape are all absolutely inseparable.” What he outlines here is that the dining experience is about much more than just the food itself — it’s about the thoughts, memories, feelings, and sensations it elicits.

The atmosphere in your restaurant is created by combining tangible and intangible elements to influence the dining experience of each customer. Tangible components like the food, decor, lighting, and music interact with intangible elements like culture, theme, and the overall “vibe” of the restaurant.

For instance, a fine-dining French restaurant may create a luxurious ambiance using dim lighting, elegant decor, and the soothing melodies of classical music. A trendy brunch spot, on the other hand, might embrace natural light, colorful decor, and vibrant sounds to inspire a lively crowd.

As a restaurateur, you already have the food and service figured out — here’s how you can make sure your visuals, theme, and music work together with the rest to improve your restaurant experience.

There’s an art to creating the perfect ambience in your restaurant. From the lighting and decor to the restaurant name and theme, all of these components work together to set the stage for a particular experience.

In addition to the food itself, the decor should align with a central theme to represent the restaurant’s identity, its personality. From there, the background music you play helps bring the experience to life.

The restaurant experience starts well before the food is served. The process kicks off as your customers walk through the door, hit by the aroma of your food and the lights, furniture, and decor of your space. Outside of the aesthetic appeal, visual elements are important because they help tie the experience to specific emotions and themes.

This includes art, cutlery, glass and tableware, lighting, and anything else they see that will impact the customers’ perception of the restaurant.

A restaurant’s theme is the underlying concept or “vibe” that the establishment conveys to its customers.  While the theme is distinct from the restaurant’s cuisine, menu, or service style, it plays into these and other tangible elements to accentuate the overall atmosphere.

For example, a fusion restaurant might recreate the energy and cultural authenticity of the Thai floating markets by using boat-shaped decor, brightly colored umbrellas, hanging lanterns, and blue lighting to create the effect of being on a river in Bangkok.

Music has the power to tap into the emotional realm, subtly influencing the mood and behavior of your patrons. Carefully selected background music not only complements your restaurant’s aesthetic but also works in harmony with your menu and theme, creating a cohesive sensory experience.

Music plays a vital role in shaping the theme and brand of your restaurant. But even more importantly, it shapes the customer’s perception of the dining experience in a variety of ways.

A photo of a bartender at work in a restaurant, looking at something on a mobile device

How the right background music amplifies the restaurant atmosphere

Music is one of the most important, yet often overlooked, parts of a restaurant’s ambiance. It accentuates the sensory experiences from the food and influences 

. Studies have even indicated that the right background music can affect tipping behavior in certain demographics.

Layering sensory experiences on top of one another can have an additive effect on our perception of experiences. Sound and taste are one of those powerful combinations. 

 finds that people’s rating of deserts increases across a variety of flavors in the presence of their preferred music versus its absence.

Positive music decreases the impact of long wait times

Having a long wait list during peak hours is a great problem for any restaurant owner to have, but it’s also the cause of poor dining experiences. Standing around in a waiting area is a frustrating experience, but you can 

 by playing positive music to diffuse the situation and create a relaxing atmosphere for your customers.

Tempo determines the pace and size of a meal

Restaurants can use the tempo of background music to set the pace of a meal. Studies show that high-tempo music increases the overall 

duration of the meal and the amount of food and drink they order

.  So, whether you want to lengthen meals for more upselling opportunities or drive turnover to generate more business, the music’s tempo can significantly influence the dining speed of your patrons.

It’s not just the mere presence of music that impacts your customers; the genre has a specific influence on both how much they spend and how authentic they believe your restaurant is. For restaurants offering cuisine from a specific region or culture, playing music from that area enhances patrons’ perception of the food’s authenticity.

Naturally, the volume of background music greatly impacts diners and their perception of your restaurant. You need to identify a volume level that enhances the dining experience without becoming a distraction. For instance, research shows that cafes and coffee shops with both loud music and full tables increases the likelihood of negative customer experiences.

A photo of friends and family gathering and socializing in a restaurant, with a 3D rendering of a restaurant and a screenshot of the Sonos Pro dashboard

Since background music is so important to your restaurant experience, investing in a complete sound solution will help you easily set the tone of your space. As a pioneer in multi-room audio, Sonos has revolutionized how listeners experience their favorite music in the comfort of their own homes. Now Sonos is taking its expertise and premium speakers to enhance the soundscapes of restaurants, cafes, and other businesses with Sonos Pro.

Sonos Pro provides business owners with a 

 that includes best-in-class speakers, commercially-licensed music, and an online dashboard that lets you easily control the system from anywhere. Together, these elements give you control over the atmosphere in your restaurant and also provide you with the following:

Gain a high-level view of the playlist, volume, and other settings across each location with the Sonos Pro Dashboard, so you can monitor and manage your restaurant sound from anywhere.

Explore Sonos’s catalog of commercially-licensed music and find the playlist that perfectly accentuates your restaurant brand and theme.

Access a success manager or on-demand product specialists to quickly resolve issues, minimize downtime, and bring the vibes that create memorable dining experiences for your customers.

 Amplify your atmosphere with best-in-class sound quality from Sonos speakers, and create memorable experiences that keep customers coming back.

 and find that perfect playlist to accentuate your food, brand, and atmosphere.

A photo of a bar at a stylish restaurant, with a TV and speakers behind the bar for customers to enjoy

Create the Perfect Atmosphere in Your Restaurant with Music

Humans are creatures of habit, especially when it comes to shopping. Day-to-day, week-to-week, and year-to-year shopping habits settle into predictable patterns. For instance, lots of people venture out for essentials during the week, browse luxury items and accessories over the weekend, and splurge on major purchases when seasonal sales come around. But as a business owner, you can’t just rely on these habits — you need to drive the shopping behavior of your consumers with curated shopping experiences. Music is a key ingredient of these experiences.

Playing the right background music in your retail store is a powerful, cost-efficient way to align the shopping experience with customer needs.

Even established retail brands with a consistent product offering and clientele can use music to easily align with consumer habits and remain successful. This article will discuss the importance of investing in a sound system that provides your business with total control over its background music and helps you meet this challenge head-on.

A photo from inside a stylish and modern clothing retail store of a clean downtown city street outside

Why is background music so important for retail stores?

Background music is one of the most effective tools for tailoring retail environments that align with brand goals and customer needs. It’s far less labor-intensive than repeatedly rearranging displays, altering interiors, or renovating a commercial space. When done correctly, music creates positive associations with your brand, enhancing customer experience and potentially driving purchase behavior.

The impact that your background music has on customer behavior and business performance is profound. Specifically, the characteristics of your music — 

 — are proven to influence customer shopping behavior in many ways.

Despite the fact that many people feel more drained during the week than on weekends, they still need to go shopping during the week. This means weekday shoppers are more likely to be stressed, tired, and agitated than they might otherwise be on a Saturday morning or Sunday afternoon.

Research shows that businesses can counteract those negative feelings by playing background music that creates an uplifting or relaxing retail environment. More importantly, carefully selected music also

Matching genre and product category increases spending behavior

The genre of music playing in your retail store also influences your customers’ purchase decisions. But in this case, the impact depends on the type of products you sell. Studies show that classical music — which is typically  associated with a high status and prestige — 

increases customers’ willingness to pay for luxury products

 like cologne, musical instruments, and jewelry.

It’s important to note that this effect occurs because of the alignment between the shopper’s perceptions of the music and the product category. For example, playing classical music does not increase the willingness of customers to pay for practical items like storage containers, laundry detergent, or batteries.

Tempo and volume influence  time spent in retail stores

The tempo and volume of music also plays a significant role in customer behavior across the hospitality and retail industries. Low-tempo music encourages customers to stay longer because it’s more relaxing. While loud, fast-paced music motivates people to move more quickly through the store.

For instance, retailers selling home decor and furniture can use low-tempo, low-volume music to encourage shoppers to circulate the store for longer — increasing the chance that they come across the right product and giving your sales staff more time to work their magic.

Music improves mood and leads to better service interactions

Just like everyone else, your customers and employees have good and bad days. On those challenging days, playing music with a positive, uplifting message can help improve mood and increase the likelihood of positive experiences.

But background music doesn’t just elevate people’s moods; it also sets the stage for those 

 between customers and your staff. By selecting the right playlist, you can use music as a bridge to connect the two parties and create positive interactions that solidify your store as a go-to place for your shoppers.

A photo of two people in a stylish and modern home retail store, holding a discussion over a tablet device

Hit the right note with a remote management and monitoring system

Your retail atmosphere needs to accomplish two things: amplify your brand and entice your customers.

Outdated or improvised sound systems that don’t have efficient music management features mean that you must dedicate more time to maintain a perfect sound experience. From creating processes and training staff to trusting that they can balance this responsibility with their usual tasks, the situation just isn’t ideal.

This is why sound systems that help you remotely monitor and manage the music in your retail space are so essential. If this concept is novel to you, you’re in the right place — Read on to find out everything you need to know about this powerful sound system feature.

What is remote management and monitoring?

Remote monitoring and management gives you 24/7 visibility and control over the music in your stores — from what music is playing and how loud it’s being played to overall system status and employee access privileges.

 to a central sound system through your store’s WiFi network. Then all you need is to download the powerful dashboard app on a tablet or mobile device to get any-time access to the music in your retail store. You can even add employee access as needed to ensure that only those who you trust have access to your brand’s sound experience.

Whether you have one location or one hundred, remote monitoring and management gives you the capability to control one of the most critical aspects of your retail ambiance, your background music, from anywhere.

A closeup photo of a Sonos speaker on a shelf in a retail store with various home decor items, and a person holding a tablet device and interacting with an app

Benefits of remote access to your retail store music

No more lack of oversight or inconsistent sound experiences — remote monitoring and management give you complete control over the music in your retail space. Below are some of the benefits you’ll unlock with a 

comprehensive sound system like Sonos Pro

Luxury furniture. Sporting goods. Boutique crafts. Whatever it is that you sell across your stores, you need to create a consistent sound that eases your customers toward that final sale.

Create a consistent sound experience to match your brand vision

Remote monitoring and management give you control over the music across all your retail stores. So, your customers know exactly what to expect when they walk into your space, regardless of the location.

Remote monitoring and management gives you visibility into  the music, volume, and status of your sound system across each location. Need to make adjustments to the music based on the time of day? You can schedule playlists and settings to ensure that the stage is always set for ideal shopping experiences and service interactions through the easy-to-use Sonos Pro dashboard.

Manage your sound from anywhere with an easy-to-use dashboard

Let your  employees focus on driving  sales and supporting your customers. Remote management puts you in control of your sound system by letting you select who can access your sound system and what they can do.

Eliminate administrative burdens and reduce employee distractions

Delegate light administrative tasks like volume control to your most trusted staff and free up the rest of your team to focus on the work that’s most important to your business.

With all the other factors you need to look after in your day-to-day duties, the last thing you want is to check in on the sound system at each location. With remote monitoring and management, you can quickly identify any issues with your speaker or streaming app and reboot the system remotely. If that’s not enough, you can quickly access a Sonos Pro specialist to get your sound back on track.

Make sure your sound system is always in good shape

To fully realize the benefits of remote monitoring and management, you need to pair your sound system with both high-quality, commercial-grade speakers and a catalog of commercially-licensed music.

A photo of four Sonos Pro Era 100 speakers

A photo of a person relaxing on a sofa and interacting with a mobile device, with logos for many sound system apps overlaid on the photo

Amplify your retail store music experience with Sonos Pro

As pioneers in multi-room audio, Sonos has been delivering innovative sound experiences in the home for years . Now, Sonos is applying its sound expertise to a new frontier — your business.

Sonos Pro offers retailers, restauranteurs, and other business owners with the three essential components for an excellent commercial sound experience:

and learn about the other benefits you get in addition to remote monitoring and management.

A photo of the inside of a retail store with clothing and home items, and an adult and child shopping and having an amusing conversation

How To Remotely Manage and Monitor Music in Your Retail Store

Picture this: you stroll into your favorite local cafe.

As the door swings open, it’s more than just the tantalizing scent of freshly ground coffee that greets you. It’s the sound. A warm tapestry of jazz instrumentals weaves through the air. The music creates an ambiance that’s inviting, familiar, and comforting — a harmonious backdrop that sparks your creativity, fuels friendly conversations, or simply helps you unwind as you crack open a novel.

Every day, millions of people across the world have a similar experience as they contribute to the United States’ 

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6 Tips for Creating A Better Retail Experience with Music

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How To Remotely Manage and Monitor Music in Your Retail Store