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The influence of music tempo and occupancy rate on alcohol consumption, time spent and money spent in restaurants

Akrin, Fikret (2013) The influence of music tempo and occupancy rate on alcohol consumption, time spent and money spent in restaurants.

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Abstract:The role of music in marketing and consumer behavior has been addressed in education, psychology, communication, and other fields to determine its effects on behavior, mood, and preferences (Alpert & Alpert, 1991). Music is known to influence people’s behavior, particularly consumer’s behavior. Several experimental studies showed that different music and structural components of the music (sound, level, tempo, tonality) affected consumer’s behavior (Gueguen, Jacob, Lourel & Le Guellec, 2007). The present study, contributes to a further understanding of the effect of music tempo and occupancy rate on consumer behavior in restaurants. This study was done in a Greek restaurant in Steenwijk. Participants were observed in a real-life setting and were asked to complete a questionnaire to gather information about their behavior regarding alcohol consumption, time spent and money spent in the restaurant. We also had an observation checklist in the restaurant to register entry and exit time of participants. When leaving the restaurant, the participants were asked to fill in a questionnaire. With the questionnaires, the participants were asked about their emotions in the environment and to evaluate the environment in an anonymous manner. Two music conditions were compared: slow music condition and fast music condition. The occupancy rate (crowding) in the restaurant was also investigated to gather information about the influence of this factor on consumer behavior. The two conditions for occupancy rate were compared: high occupancy rate and low occupancy rate. The results revealed no significant evidence that music tempo or occupancy rate has an influence on the total time spent, alcohol consumption and money spent in the restaurant by participants. However, an interaction effect has been found between these two factors. Analyses showed that people spent more time, consume more alcohol and spent more money in a restaurant when fast tempo music was played during crowded condition, than when fast tempo music was played in a quiet restaurant. In summary, it can be concluded that when two factors (fast music tempo and high density) are congruent with each other, there will be an effect on the consumer behavior in the restaurant. This study found evidence about people consuming more alcohol, spending more time and money in the restaurant when there was fast music played and the environment was crowded. The fact that two congruent factors could influence consumer behavior was also confirmed in literature (Mattila & Wirtz, 2001; Eroglu, Machleit & Chebat, 2005; and Caldwell & Hibbert, 1999). Marketers and store managers in different organizations should choose congruent features in the environment to influence consumer behavior.
Item Type:Essay (Master)
Faculty:BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences
Subject:05 communication studies
Programme:Communication Studies MSc (60713)
Link to this item:https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/64209
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