THE Christmas season in the Philippines is a unique and cherished time, celebrated longer than anywhere else in the world. As early as September, festive decorations and holiday music fill malls and public spaces, signaling the start of a monthslong celebration. For many, the familiar carols and twinkling lights evoke feelings of joy, generosity and nostalgia. But have you ever considered how these elements — especially the music — impact the way we shop? Retailers carefully craft the holiday ambiance to create an experience that not only captures the spirit of the season but also influences our buying decisions in subtle yet powerful ways.
The Jose Mari Chan meme is becoming a usual trend over the social media every month of August. It’s an indication that Filipinos are quite excited about a long Christmas celebration that will happen. Then the moment malls open on the first day of September, the long-playing Christmas songs will start to play that will last even until January of the coming year.
Christmas season is all about festive gift-shopping, but did you ever consider if the Christmas carol that is being played in your favorite gift shop affects your buying decision? In the world of retail, creating a strategy for how the customer will spend is the usual concern of a store owner. There are proven ancient strategies that really work up until now. For example, putting a “Sale” sign technique was proven to increase sales not only to the discounted items but even with the items on regular prices. Another technique is the line of sight. Wherein, expensive items should be placed on the eyeline. One signature coffee shop grinds coffee beans on a regular interval because the smell of coffee can make you want to have a drink of it. So, don’t be surprised why even as early as September Christmas songs are playing in the malls, it’s part of their marketing strategies.
It’s no secret that music has a serious impact on our brain activity. If you are fitness savvy, playing high tempo techno music will increase your stamina in doing your exercise routine. Yes, that includes even the way we spend our money. Put simply, listening to Christmas songs put us in a festive mood that reminds us that we need to buy gifts either for someone or for ourselves. One marketing study done in Europe said that people become more generous when it comes to gift-buying if they like the Christmas song playing in the background.
According to Dr. Alan Bradshaw of Royal Holloway, University of London, “Festive jingles are force-fed to Christmas shoppers in a bid to change their mood, influence their sense of time and what sort of products they buy. In other words, this is an attempt to manipulate your shopping habits in a way that you might barely be aware of.” There are a number of factors that determine how we form our buying decisions, but surely it is not only about the actual product itself. We are drawn to buy things with great packaging, service rendered and even the ambiance where we buy the products. For sure music has a huge effect in terms of experience and ambiance.
In one test done by Lisa Cavanaugh of University of Southern Carolina’s Marshall School of Business, when religious Christmas music is played, people — religious or not — were more likely to spend money on others.
Another reason why we might spend more with Christmas songs in the background is the nostalgia effect. Nostalgia is associated with yearning for the past, especially the good memories. Since Christmas is usually for children, adults still celebrate it because of how we remember the season. This is the reason why even in the modern world, we are still living like Christmas will not pass without lanterns, Christmas trees and Belens. And celebration is usually associated with music. Nostalgia and spending make us feel good. People who are nostalgic become more generous and forget about money control and budgeting, and are even willing to pay for a higher price.
I know, associating music to increase in Christmas spending is not a science-backed study. But if it does not affect us, I wonder why even on Halloween, mall owners play Christmas music instead of creepy and heart-pounding horror music. So, the next time you enter the mall with a tight budget for a Christmas gift you better put on your headphones and play summer music.
Christopher G. Cervantes is a registered financial planner of RFP Philippines. He is author of “Financial Planning for the Fast Changing World” and “The Seed Money.” To learn more about personal/financial planning, attend the 109th RFP program this January 2025. To inquire, email [email protected].
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