The impact of background music style on price thresholds for food and beverage products

Prior research suggests that background music influences consumer spending on food and beverage products. Specifically, it has been shown that playing classical versus pop background music generally leads to greater consumer spending on these products. However, it remains unclear what factors and mechanisms underlie such effects. The present research attempts to fill this gap. The research demonstrates that music style has no significant influence on the lower (minimum) acceptable price limits. However, pleasure level and product type both moderate the effect of music style on the upper acceptable (maximum) price limits. Specifically, the findings indicate that the maximum price of a utilitarian product is not significantly influenced by background music style (classical or pop), while the maximum price of a hedonic product is estimated to be higher when classical versus pop music is played, especially when consumers' pleasure levels are high. As a result, exposure to classical music, as opposed to pop music, increases the reference price, the internal price against which the individual compares the asking price for a product or service, followed by a concomitant expansion of the acceptable price range. These results are consistent with the musical congruity hypothesis. Moreover, the findings refute the notion that arousal level, perception of product quality, level of knowledge, involvement level, sense of task ease, and level of interest in music could account for the results. The paper concludes with a discussion of research limitations and directions for future research.