Black Friday songs – Play the right music on the big day

1. Save Christmas

It’s tempting to start with the Christmas classics too early. It is the day after Thanksgiving, after all, and you want to inspire holiday shopping. But you can resist the urge and save carols like “Deck the Halls” and “Jingle Bells” for the coming weeks while still playing music that fits the season.

This way, staff and customers won’t overdose on the limited number of Christmas songs. Perhaps more importantly, a survey of shoppers found that 17% of American shoppers and 25% of British shoppers actively dislike Christmas music in retail.

When it is time to break out the seasonal tunes, the right mix of Christmas music and non-holiday playlists will create the perfect atmosphere. Only services like Soundtrack can help schedule a tracklist that blends a Christmas song into the mix every three or four songs. Plus, Soundtrack will go further than the standard Christmas carols with a wide variety of holiday music – from traditional to country, reggae, and R&B Christmas songs.

See Soundtrack’s extensive catalog of holiday playlists.

Recommended playlists

Classical Piano
Low-key, timeless classical piano music

Soul Saga
Vintage soul songs from the 60s and 70s

2. Keep it moving

A full store is a blessing but also a challenge: you need to move customers through the store as quickly as possible while still making sure they find what they need. This way, staff can help as many customers as possible leave happy. And the faster customers cycle through your shop, the more inviting the store looks to potential customers walking by (who wants to squeeze into a packed store?) and the faster any line outside can move.

What kind of music gets customers in motion? You should play songs with more energy—the opposite of what customers in line need to hear. While you want music with energy, you don’t want so much that it sends customers into a frenzy or turns them away.

And, you want to play songs they aren’t familiar with. Playing only mainstream, hit music distracts customers when they’re thinking about making a purchase, because they consciously think about the songs instead of what you’re selling.

So, you should play mostly lesser known songs with medium-high energy.

Recommended playlists

Like Now Pop
Pop so new that it isn’t popular yet. Modern and fresh, but not intimidating.

Indie Scanner
Moderately uptempo indie pop with electronic and urban roots

3. Keep it moving

A full store is a blessing but also a challenge: you need to move customers through the store as quickly as possible while still making sure they find what they need. This way, staff can help as many customers as possible leave happy. And the faster customers cycle through your shop, the more inviting the store looks to potential customers walking by (who wants to squeeze into a packed store?) and the faster any line outside can move.

What kind of music gets customers in motion? Research shows that fast-tempo music enhances variety-seeking behavior among consumers. Playing songs with more energy will help keep them moving around your store and inspire them to purchase a wider variety of items – and then move on to a different store after they’ve made their selections.

This strategy can also help coffee shops and restaurants increase table turnover. For example, a cafe in a mall or shopping center can be a welcome oasis for tired shoppers, but you don’t want them to linger too long, particularly if there’s a waitlist for tables. Playing uptempo music can help them recharge faster and get back to shopping, freeing up their table for the next customer.

However, while you want to ensure the music fits your brand, our research shows it’s important not to play only mainstream, hit music. This can distract customers when they’re thinking about making a purchase, because they will consciously think about the songs instead of what you’re selling.

The best formula is to play a variety of medium-high energy music that fits your brand and includes popular hits and lesser-known tracks. In fact, our survey of a popular restaurant chain revealed a 9.1% boost in sales with this approach, versus just a 5.5% increase with brand-fit hits.

Recommended playlists

Like Now Pop
Pop so new that it isn’t popular yet. Modern and fresh, but not intimidating

Indie Scanner
Moderately uptempo indie pop with electronic and urban roots

4. Slow it down

When there are few customers in the store, or just the right amount for the staff to manage, the goal is to keep those customers around.

You want to slow things down enough for customers to take their time and find exactly what they came for, and see everything else you have to offer, too. But you want the tracklist to retain some energy so the store feels alive. Especially if you’re an American business and the sale began at midnight on Thanksgiving, you want to keep your customers awake and in a shopping mood in the predawn hours – not to mention your tireless staff who are working overnight.

Same as when you have a full store, you want to eliminate distraction, so it’s important to play a healthy mix of popular hits and lesser known songs.

Recommended playlists

Indie Campfire
Singer-songwriter acoustic perfect for retail

Boutique Inn
Elegant pop vibes and R&B designed for stores

5. Keep the peace

If your business is family-friendly or if edgy music isn’t your thing, make sure to curate a playlist that avoids explicit tracks or simply turn on the explicit lyric filter. All of Soundtrack’s pricing plans come with this functionality. Some of the playlists we recommended do have explicit content, but you can take that away with the flick of a switch.