In Store Music Design: Client Case Study Furniture Retailer

In-Store Music Case Study: Affordable Furniture & Design

The experience for most people shopping at home furnishing stores is either: A) a cheap, fast, get-you out of the store feeling or B) boring and time consuming. But, when you shop at Affordable Furniture & Design it’s neither. It’s quite different, it’s actually fun and it’s not a like any home furnishing store you’ve seen.

Unlike traditional home furnishing stores, Affordable Furniture knows it’s all about the customer experience. That’s why you walk-inside the nearly 100,000- square foot store, you immediately smell fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies for you to grab and enjoy while browsing, but it doesn’t stop there. Customers also enjoy a pizza bar, ice-cream stand, IMAX movie theatre, interactive rides and kids gaming room. All of this is designed to keep families in the store and create a unique and enjoyable experience. However, one area of the customer experience that was lacking was their in-store music.

The Music Problem:

Affordable Furniture’s in-store music source initially was a local FM radio station with annoying DJ talk and commercials playing from competitors. Then they tried background music using CDs and a CD player which they had to delegate a staff member to constantly change-out throughout the day to avoid repetition. And, if a power surge occurred, the CD player would shut-off or fail, leaving them with no background music at all. Seeking an alternative to their CD problem, they tried music being beamed by a satellite dish connected to the side of their building, which not only stuck out like a sore thumb, but any time it would rain or snow the signal would be lost leaving them with no background music.

Affordable Furniture wanted to:

a) get a reliable in-store music solution

b) avoid commercials from competitors

c) design in-store music that matched their brand and also include their own targeted messages directed to shoppers

d) keep the music legal and avoid costly ASCAP, BMI and SESAC licenses for in-store music

The Solution:

So Affordable Furniture & Design turned to the Original On Hold for an in-store music solution, and here’s what we did.

Since Affordable Furniture & Design isn’t your typical furniture store, our music service designers created background music playlists that captured the style, flair and uniqueness of their brand, while ensuring their customers listened to great sounding music so their visit would be a pleasant experience. Not only does AF&D play a wide variety of custom music with low repetition, it’s branded with targeted messaging, too. Occasionally between songs, there are easy-going messages to promote special offers, upcoming events and sales, and the latest happenings in the store geared towards shoppers.

We also solved their dilemma of using ugly, unreliable satellite dishes and other inferior music sources, by providing streaming in-store music services delivered via our internet media player to deliver a reliable and completely hands-free in-store music solution.

The Outcome:

AFD’s Chief Marketing Officer Victoria Elliott says: “I’ve never been more thrilled to work with a company that understands the importance of the customer experience. Not only did the Original On Hold’s music designers create a custom playlist that perfectly complements our brand, but their in-store music plays a critical role in creating the right mood, unique atmosphere and contributing to a positive customer experience. They also solved a long standing problem with the delivery source of our in-store music.”