Music as a Magical Cue: An Exploratory Study of Background Music and Purchase Intentions in TV Home Shopping Programs

Although music is one of the most important attributes of broadcasting communications, few studies have examined the relationship between background music and the behavior of audiences, particularly in the context of TV home shopping programs, where purchase decisions are made while watching the show. The objective of this study is to examine whether certain characteristics of music in broadcasting communications can affect the audiences' purchase intentions or behaviors. Unlike previous studies on this issue, this study considers the impulse-inducing capability (IIC) of music as an important variable affecting consumers' purchase intension. A 2×3 (high/low involvement and high/low/no IIC music) between subjects design was used for the experiments in the study. The TV home shopping programs in the high or low involvement condition were identical except for the type of background music: high IIC music, low IIC music, and no music. A total of 188 undergraduate students at a college in Seoul, South Korea participated in the study. Their ages range from 20 to 25 (median age = 22), and nearly 60% were male. Our analysis showed that in the low involvement condition, high IIC music was more likely to have a positive effect on purchase intentions than low IIC (common) music or no music did. Meanwhile, there was not any significant relationship between music and purchase intentions in the high involvement condition. Given that previous studies have provided no clear evidence of the effects of music on consumers' purchase intentions or behaviors, this study makes an important contribution to the literature in this field. The result of this study provides implications to the practitioners in the market, too. Marketers need to reevaluate the value of music used in broadcasting communications and pay more attention to find the right music for their campaigns. Limitations of this study as well as directions for future studies are also discussed.