4 Sounds that can be eCommerce game changers in 2015
Have you ever been in a silent retail store? I doubt it. Maybe you didn’t notice the ambient sound or you can’t remember what song was playing but brick and mortar stores know playing music as a truth to a better shopping experience. Research has shown shoppers spend 20% more when music is played in store. However, almost every person I talk to HATES eCommerce sites with sound. Quick disclaimer:
My advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience"
- Sunscreen by Baz Luhrmann | Listen: https://awe.sm/gLpb6
I hate website with music too. When I land on sound enabled site a mini panic attack begins. Where is that sound coming from? Can I mute it!? Where is the button to turn it off!!?? Quickly before the people around me will hear what site I’m visiting and start to judge me.
Retail stores fill their showroom with sounds because it creates a better shopping experience. It’s a shared experience with everyone else you’re with. Its not awkward when you're the only person in the store. It alters your mood. Think about stores notorious for their music like Abercrombie, Urban Outfitters, JCrew etc. If they can replicate there in store atmosphere online would their eCommerce revenue jump 20%?
One of my favorite examples of how sounds improve an experience is at the Seattle Airport. The drinking fountains at SEATAC airport play sounds of a flowing creek when you press the button for water. Its pretty cool. I probably won’t drink 20% more water but I do inherently think of SEATAC as a more enjoyable airport because of the water fountains.
Online shoppers are different. They are multitasking. They are alone. If we think carefully about adding an additional sense there is a huge potential for a positive effect from ambiance noise during online shopping experiences.
The Internet has proven to be ok with gchat message notifications, spotify music and youtube video noise… so I am thinking there has to be an opportunity to take advantage of what people hear while they are shopping in a digital environment to improve their experience.
The web learned we don’t like autoplay videos that much but when we do come across them we like them a lot more if the autoplay youtube clip in our newsfeed is defaulted to mute. This stems from the digital customer demanding more control.
Here are a couple use cases that I believe we will start to see in 2015 that can improve online experience and CONVERSION!
- Play the same music as in store but make it optional for the user. Autoplay must be disabled.
- Software that identifies whether or not to play sound i.e. the user on site has an audio jack plugged in (99.9% chance they’re wearing headphones at work, 0.1% chance they’re DJing a house party) AND not currently playing any other music/video. The second part is key.
- As the user browses a very subtle soft ambient noise plays only as the mouse moves on site. Nothing will play when they are not engaging with the site. Ideally the website has sound the user doesn't consciously notice.
- Positive affirmation sounds: Product photo are more fun to scrol through. The Add to Cart button goes “DING!” when you click it. The most awesome cash register “Cha-Ching!” at checkout success.
Please comment if you know any sites doing sound well.
Photo credit: Mark Davis, Getty Images
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James Hotson, Director of Sales at Retention Science
Twitter @JamesHotson
Digital Marketing | MeetingPackage
10 年Good thinking but the most important point for me is that it "can improve" the experience and conversion. At the same time it can ruin the whole experience. To be honest I am quite skeptical when it comes to playing music on web site, but the only way to prove this is to make tests. People please do not do anything like this without testing it properly. It might work for you or it might lower your income greatly if done wrong. After all, every thing is just an opinion (just like mine) without test results :) I'd love to see some test results! James would you be able to test this?
Having a great love for helping people to live richer more independent lives. Relationship builder and project management through identifying, addressing and implementing solutions.
10 年All valid points. Interestingly enough, many folks like myself are watching TV while shopping online and already concentrating on another audio. I don't need anything competing with that. Should be interesting to hear how e-commerce evolves this year.
Fullkom - Fullcommerce para Indústrias e Tradings
10 年I agree with Philip Pravda, Bossa Nova is the best. I will try in our ecommerce www.posthaus.com.
VP of Product & Customer Experience
10 年If I could connect my Spotify (or something similar) account to my profile in an eCommerce store you then could stream relevant music to me that could create an even better experience, definitely one to test out. It's a bit like what Spotify and Uber have done; being in a cab with your favorite tunes on is a nice touch....a service that would make me come back. Challenge is this, if I am in a store that has multiple product verticals do you then change music based on that, i.e. Dubstep in the Bedding department doesn't really work for me, so we then get into contextual music. Also, how could this work online in eCommerce experiences such as Financial Services? #challenge