As much as we were all disappointed to get to the year 2015 without the flying cars, robotic fuel stations and hoverboards that we were promised in Back to the Future, technology is evolving at a rapid pace. It begs the question of what will the future look like 10, 20, 50 years from now. How much of our modern technology and consumer experiences will be obsolete?

It is easy to assume that with the rise of Artificial Intelligence, Afterpay and online shopping that shopfronts will become a thing of the past. However, nothing could be further from the truth. Rather the experience of going to a store to window shop, try out products and instantly take home purchases is a core part of the human experience that is unlikely to be going away any time soon.

Rather, many future strategists predict that the way shops function will evolve to be personalised for the shopper. Imagine a virtual reality experience where the music is targeted to the shopper’s personal traits and shopping preferences. No more enduring drab, lifeless music, but the perfect background track all the time.

Exciting, isn’t it? The customer experience is evolving and changing.

As much as we can’t wait for a virtual reality world, the truth is that the here and now deserves cutting edge experiences as well. Back to the present, in-store music that is targeted to the brand, atmosphere and needs of the clientele is a reality. Not only can in-store music improve the customer experience, but also help the store meet its full sales potential with research showing that targets music increases sales by 92%. Now that’s personalised experience.

References:

1 Knoferle, K. M., Spangenberg, E. R., Herrmann, A. & Landwehr, J. R. (2012). It is all in the mix: The interactive effect of music tempo and mode on in-store sales. Retired from Research Gatecom,
2 Daunfeldt, S (2017). Playing the right background music increases sales.