Greggs prospects spend extra if retailer is enjoying classical music, researchers uncover
He may be one of the world’s best-selling musicians – but you might not find Phil Collins’s songs playing in Greggs.
For it appears that customers of the high street bakery chain might be less inclined to part with their cash if they are listening to pop and rock songs rather than classical music.
In a study, 134 Greggs shoppers were either played Collins’s 1988 hit A Groovy Kind Of Love or Italian composer Muzio Clementi’s 1797 Sonatina in G Major.
While listening to the background music, the participants were told that Greggs had introduced a breakfast roll and a hot drink.
They were also informed that the breakfast could include biscuits, a pastry and fresh fruit, viewed by researchers as ‘hedonic’ items for pleasure rather than essential.
The maximum price either group would pay for the basic breakfast was £5, regardless of what music was playing. They were also willing to pay more for the enhanced breakfast.
It appears that customers of the high street bakery chain might be less inclined to part with their cash if they are listening to pop and rock songs rather than classical music
But those listening to Clementi’s piano piece were prepared to pay £6.82, compared to the £5.45 that those listening to the former Genesis frontman’s hit would typically hand over.
The researchers, from Bar-Ilan University in Israel, concluded this is because people are prepared to pay more for items when classical music – which is often considered loftier than pop – is playing.
They told journal Marketing Letters: ‘It is possible that classical music has a greater propensity to widen the acceptable price range than pop music.
‘This, in turn, could positively influence consumers’ purchase intentions, leading them to spend more… Marketers of hedonic products are likely to benefit from choosing classical music congruent with the essence of the product in question.’ Collins has sold an estimated 150million records and is worth around £265million.
