By Nikki Wishart, Music Curator at QSIC

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When people think about in-store design, they usually picture the visual: lighting, layout, branding, signage. Sound barely makes the list. But it should. Because music isn’t just decoration - it’s part of how a space works.

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In fast-paced environments like quick service restaurants and convenience stores, music plays a unique role. Customers are often in a rush. Staff are managing queues. The space has to function at high speed and high volume. And that’s exactly where music can make a difference - not by setting a mood, but by influencing how people feel, move, and respond to what’s happening around them.

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Music That Understands the Room

Impactful music curation doesn’t start with playlists. It starts with people.

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In-store spaces serve different types of customers across the day - commuters in the morning, parents and workers at lunch, students in the afternoon. Each group brings different energy levels, habits, and expectations. Music that works in one moment might fall flat in the next.

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That’s why demographic insight matters. It allows sound to be programmed in a way that’s responsive. Not just in terms of what plays, but when, how it’s delivered, and at what pace. Done well, the music becomes part of the rhythm of the day, supporting foot traffic, enhancing focus, and creating a smoother flow across every shift.

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The Power of Tempo

One of the most overlooked elements of music curation is tempo - and its impact on behaviour.

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Faster tracks tend to increase energy and movement. Slower tracks can ease the pace and encourage people to linger. These changes may be subtle, but the behavioural shifts they create are measurable.

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A study published in the Journal of Retailing found that in crowded store conditions, fast-tempo music (above 107 BPM) significantly increased customer spending. (Knoeferle & Vossen, 2017) The reason? Fast music helps reframe the physical arousal caused by crowding. Instead of feeling stressed, customers feel energised. They stay longer. They engage more. And they spend more.

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This isn’t just interesting - it’s strategic. Sound can be shaped to respond to density, time of day, or customer profile. That kind of alignment has a real impact on how the space performs.

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Day Parts That Make Sense

Crowding in stores isn’t constant - it tends to peak during specific times like lunch or late afternoon, then eases off during quieter parts of the day. As mentioned before, we know that in crowded conditions, fast-tempo music (above 107 BPM) significantly boosted customer spending (Knoeferle & Vossen, 2017), but what about when it’s not crowded? 

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Playing the same fast-tempo tracks during quieter times can feel jarring or out of sync with the atmosphere. That’s where day parts come in. They guide how the music shifts throughout the day to fit the natural flow. 

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Early mornings call for calm, familiar sounds to gently wake people up. When crowds pick up, the music ramps up with rhythmic, focused tracks that complement the buzz. Later in the day, as things slow again, the playlist relaxes to help everyone - staff and customers - reset.

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This careful balancing act shapes how people move through the space, how long they stay, and how they feel in the moment. It keeps the music fresh and relevant, avoiding it becoming just background noise. When done right, the music feels like part of the store’s hospitality - attuned to the rhythm of the day and the people in it.

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Not Just What Sounds Good - What Works

We often get asked why staff don’t just choose the music. Wouldn’t that feel more authentic? More “real”?

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But authenticity in a commercial space doesn’t come from personal taste - it comes from understanding the room. And when you let music choices default to preference, you risk misalignment between what the space feels like and what it needs to function well.

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There’s research to back this up. A 78-week study from Sweden found that when store staff had influence over in-store music, sales dropped by 6%. (Daunfeldt et al., 2021) In women’s fashion stores, the hit was even sharper - an 11% decline. Not because the playlists were bad, but because they weren’t designed for the customer experience. They were designed for the staff’s personal enjoyment.

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The difference matters. What sounds good in your headphones doesn’t always translate to a high-pressure queue or a lunchtime rush. A chilled R&B track might relax staff, but it can drag the energy down just when you need to keep people moving. A niche indie song might hit the spot for one team member, but it might not resonate at all with the customers walking through the door.

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On top of that, many clients want the in-store music to soothe customer anxiety and ease stressful interactions - especially during busy or tense moments. The right music can help calm nerves, making the experience smoother for everyone.

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That’s why curation isn’t about taste. It’s about intent. It’s about asking, “What do we want the music to do right now?”, not “What do I feel like listening to?”

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Music has a job to do - help customers move, ease pressure in queues, support staff focus, reinforce brand feel. And those jobs shift across the day.

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Letting music reflect the moment - not just one person’s mood - is what makes it effective. That’s the kind of authenticity that works.

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The Bigger Opportunity: Designing Sound That Works - and Measuring It

Music is still an afterthought in too many commercial spaces. It’s often just background noise: looping, generic, easy to ignore. But it can be so much more.

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When I build playlists, I’m not just picking tracks that sound good. I’m thinking about movement, mood, and focus. Who’s in the room right now, and what do they need? Whether it’s the rush of a busy lunch shift that needs energy without chaos, or a quiet open that calls for calm and warmth, the best music fits the rhythm of the space and the people in it.

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Good curation isn’t about showing off taste. It’s about tuning into the environment and designing sound that works with it. When done right, music stops being background noise and becomes part of the business engine - subtle, powerful, and driving everything forward.

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The challenge is that music can’t be measured the same way as other marketing tools. It doesn’t deliver instant clicks or obvious sales results. Instead, its impact shows up in how people behave, feel, and move - all of which influence business outcomes in less obvious but very real ways.

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That means measurement has to go beyond just counting plays or tracking playlists. It’s about linking music data to customer flow, dwell time, sales patterns, and even staff wellbeing.

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For example, tracking how changes in tempo match peak and quiet times can reveal shifts in spending or queue movement. Collecting feedback from staff and customers can show how music reduces anxiety or helps focus. Over time, these insights build a clear picture of what’s working - making music curation as data-driven and strategic as any other part of the retail experience.

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Sound is part of a space’s operating system. When designed with intention and measured with purpose, it becomes a real business driver - improving experience, boosting sales, and helping brands stand out.

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References

Daunfeldt, S.-O., Moradi, J., Rudholm, N., & Öberg, C. (2021). Effects of employees’ opportunities to influence in-store music on sales: Evidence from a field experiment. Elsevier Ltd, 59(1), 1-11. 

Knoeferle, K., & Vossen, A. (2017). An Upbeat Crowd: Fast In-store Music Alleviates Negative Effects of High Social Density on Customers’ Spending. Elsevier Inc, 93(4), 541-549. 

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