Consumers Like
Listening Stations

by Dr. Thomas W. Hutchinson, Ph.D., Department of Recording Industry,
Middle Tennessee State University

Most consumers (70%) say it is important to preview music at listening stations before purchase. This was the major finding of a new study by Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) marketing research students. The study was conducted for the NARM/RIAA Merchandising Committee, with preliminary results presented at NARM's 1996 Convention.

Patrons of 15 stores were surveyed in 11 Eastern and Southern U.S. cities, including independent stores, superstores, mall chains, freestanding stores, and discount stores.

Seventy-eight percent of record store customers use listening stations and spend an average of 12 minutes at the station each time they visit the store. Men spend 25% more time there than women. Fans of Soul R&B, Rap, and Pop/Top 40 music spend quite a bit more time (13-14 minutes per visit) at the stations than fans of Modern Rock or Country (5-7 minutes).

Reasons For Not Using Stations

A decisive 60% of customers want more listening station choices. They don't necessarily want more songs per album (most only listen to portions of three or fewer songs), but more albums. Younger consumers were more likely to request more choices.

About one-fourth of the non-users say that they don't use the post because they lack titles of interest. Fans of Alternative and Rap are most dissatisfied with title variety. The majority (70%) of customers who don't use listening stations have already made a purchase decision before entering the store. About one-third decline because they lack the time.

Impact On Sales

The study also explores how listening posts affect the purchase decision. The good news is: users are most likely to buy the initially planned record or buy something else rather than not buy at all. And customers are also quite likely to purchase additional records after using the station.

The great news is: there is a tendency for customers not initially planning to buy to change their mind after previewing music. Store atmosphere and selection also contribute to incremental purchases.

Why Customer Preview Music

Sixty-eight percent use the posts to check out "other songs on an album after hearing one elsewhere" or "other recordings by an artist they like." They also use the station to preview "music recommended by a friend" (63%) or "music noticed while in the store" (58%), attesting to the success of innovative merchandise display. Finally, consumers are interested in using the systems "to check out completely new music" (53%).

Viewing Materials At Stations

A 1994 Envirosell/NARM study revealed that customers like to browse through materials while at the listening post. Based on those findings the MTSU study asked consumers what they would like to view. The most popular response was "information on the artist" (44.4%), followed by "album information" (35%) and the "actual CD booklet" (34.8%).

Country music fans are more interested in photos of the artist. Jazz fans are interested in everything except photos. Alternative music fans want "tour information." Rap fans want "tour" and "artist information" and photos. Modern rock and R&B fans would like "general music information" and "the CD booklet."

Other Forms of Music Sampling

Members of the committee asked us to survey customers on their interest in sampling music from home either on the computer or via telephone.

Results show that only about half of retail customers are interested in sampling at home, and that those interested in sampling via telephone are the same ones interested in sampling online. This 50% also spend more time at the listening stations, indicating a large group who are interested in all forms of music sampling.

Selecting A Favorite Record Store

While listening station usage is popular, it was not the predominate reason people shop at particular stores. The top reason is "store location," followed by "product selection" and "product price." Younger respondents are more likely to select a favorite store based upon "atmosphere" or "availability of listening posts." Older shoppers are more interested in "customer service." Patrons of mall/chain stores indicated "location" as the primary reason, while "selection" is most important for shoppers at freestanding and independent stores.

Listening posts provide a value-added service for customers. They contribute to incremental sales and help sustain sales. But customers want more choices. One-third say they might postpone a purchase if an album they are interested in is not available at the listening post. Given this information, retailers now have an opportunity to better serve customers.