Five Things Happening With In Store Music in 2024
We’re constantly surveying the high streets, shopping centres and retail parks of the UK to assess the music playing in the stores. Our full report will be published later this year, in the meantime, what are the trends we’ve noticed so far in 2024?
1. Greatness is rare
Last year, only 3% of in store music was rated “excellent” in our survey – this year so far, it’s only up slightly to 4%. Excellent stores had music that had significantly raised the in-store experience and was clearly audible throughout the floor space.
2. Poor quality is a bigger issue
The amount of stores rated as “poor” is on the rise. Last year, 38% of stores rated “poor” for their music experience, so far in 2024, 56% have achieved a “poor” rating. The main reasons of these poor ratings are music that doesn’t reflect the brand and audio equipment that’s not up to the job.
3. Fashion leads the way
Fashion retailers once again set the standard – clothes and shoe retailers seem to have a knack for matching their music experience to their customers and stores.
4. Supermarkets lag behind
Meanwhile, general retailers (including supermarkets) are most likely to be marked as “poor”. The main reason for this is dated music and audio which is hard to hear in these, often larger, stores.
5. Cut costs, cut effectiveness
We’ve spotted a new trend which seems to be caused by stores cutting music costs and getting it very wrong for their customers. An elite few are doing this well, but the majority could be causing more damage to their sales than they are saving.
“There are some seriously impressive sounding stores right now, but danger signs that retailers in particular are damaging their customer and staff experience through lack of love and care.” – Euan McMorrow, Managing Director of AVC Music
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