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Listener Katie Shepherd from Austin, Texas, asks:

Who plays the music in supermarkets? Do they use Spotify?

The right song at the supermarket can boost sales, subliminally push you toward certain products and even elevate your mood. 

“I’ve seen people dancing or singing along to the song they like when it’s playing. I’ve done it myself too,” said Lizette Gomez, director of marketing at Vallarta Supermarkets, a Hispanic grocery chain based in California.

The DJs of the grocery store world consist of retail associates and marketers who choose just the right genre of music to help set the ambiance for shoppers and employees. 

Customers are diverse, which means “two shoppers may react differently to the same song,” University of Cincinnati marketing professor James Kellaris told Marketplace over email.  

“Hence the song is much less important than the general traits of the music, such as pace and familiarity, and the traits of the customers, such as demographics and musical tastes,” he said. 

Stores often select from playlists curated by commercial music providers like Mood Media, CloudCover and Rockbot that they think will align with their customer base. Playlists might be devoted to “Latin hits” or “Top 40” songs and can contain hundreds of songs.

Music samples from Mood Music’s Latin category:

These providers sell music packages that can range between about $15 and $60 per month, depending on the type of artists and level of control a retailer wants with their playlist. 

The songs are also fully licensed, allowing grocers to play what they want, which is why they don’t resort to Spotify. The popular streaming service states its songs are “only for personal, non-commercial use.” 

“Playing music in a commercial setting just as one would at home or in a car is illegal — a violation of copyright and artists’ rights,” Kellaris said.

Picking the right song is a delicate balancing act. If a song is too loud, then the music could irritate customers, Gomez said. But if a store is too quiet, the only thing customers might hear is the sound of a tortilla press in the background, she said. 

“We want to give everybody the best shopping experience,” Gomez said. “Once you have a good shopping experience, and you have good music, you just had a good day.”

Vallarta’s marketing team utilizes Mood Media, selecting artists like the Mexican rock band Maná and the reggaeton singer Ozuna. 

The chain’s Baldwin Park location attracts older shoppers, Gomez said, so she favors more “family friendly” tunes there.

“Obviously I’m not gonna go play Bad Bunny in there, and I love Bad Bunny. He’s one of my favorite artists,” Gomez said. 

Customers tend to spend less when a store is crowded, but a 2017 study from BI Norwegian Business School found playing fast-paced music from artists like Lady Gaga and Taylor Swift can increase sales. 

Music can also influence the products customers choose. A 1997 study published in the British journal Nature found French wine outsold German wine when a supermarket played French music, and vice versa. 

Vallarta will vary the style of music at a store, so that employees working eight-hour shifts aren’t stuck listening to the same genre of music all day, Gomez said. 

Retail employees commiserate online about the experience of suffering through the same song over and over again. On the H-E-B subreddit, one poster wrote that if they hear Lou Bega’s “Mambo No. 5” again, they’re “going to pull the fire alarm.” 

Wise retailers pay attention to their workers’ needs, not just their customers’. “Music affects employees as well, with potential effects on morale, absenteeism, productivity, and service quality,” Kellaris said. 

At Hannaford Supermarkets, a chain of stores in New England and New York, retail associates began to have more say in how songs are chosen in recent years, a spokesperson told Marketplace over email.

Based on employee feedback, Hannaford worked with Mood Media to come up with 10 music channels that associates could select music from, the spokesperson said. These channels include Top 40 music, country, hits from the ‘70s and ‘80s and classic tunes.

“A channel called ‘Varsity’ which features rock songs from such well-known bands as Black Sabbath has been a surprise favorite amongst both associates and customers,” the spokesperson said. 

Gomez said she listens to music all day while she works, so she understands why a good playlist is important to employees. 

“Music is a big deal to a lot of people,” Gomez said. 

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