Science behind grocery store music which tricks shoppers in to spending more money

A psychologist has explained how the music played in your local grocery store can influence your spending, after noting how playlists often differ between weekdays and weekends.

If you've ever walked into a store and found yourself lingering for longer - and spending more - than originally planned, it's not an accident.

In fact, shops are actually designed to encourage customers to stay in store for as long as possible, and they do so by using a number of psychological tricks.

While some tactics, like placing premium products at eye level or promoting deals at the entrance, are easy to spot, an expert has revealed that many others influence shoppers without them even realizing - including the music played in store.

Speaking to UNILAD, psychologist Eloise Skinner said: "The tempo of the music affects how fast we move through the store and our general sense of mood or energy levels.

"Grocery stores also generally pick ambient music over recognizable songs, since ambient music allows us to process the music as part of the background, rather than feeling distracted by recognizable tracks (or becoming aware of the time passing and wanting to finish shopping quicker)."

The music played in store can impact our mood more than we might realize, according to the expert (Getty Stock Images)

But it's not just the tracks played in store that are carefully thought through, they also differ by day of the week, according to Skinner.

She added: "There's also some distinction between music played on weekdays and at weekends, with research suggesting music has a more positive consumer impact on shoppers during the week."

Music choice is just one of a number of sneaky tricks that grocery stores use without us knowing.

The psychologist added: "Making shopping carts bigger can lead us to filling them more, with a subconscious understanding that we haven't shopped sufficiently if the cart is not full."

And if you've ever grown frustrated that the milk isn't in the same place it was last week, that's also not a coincidence.

She revealed that grocery stores are designed to keep us in store for as long as possible (Getty Stock Images)

The expert explained: "Frequently switching the layout of the store to increase uncertainty about location of items, and it encourages consumers to engage with new products or ways of shopping."

Of course, you also end up walking past way more products than you originally would have on your way to finding what you actually wanted.

Skinner said: "Most grocery stores are designed with consumer purchasing habits in mind, so even though it might not be a case of wanting us to spend more than planned, it's certainly a priority to make sure consumers have a fulfilling and feel-good shopping experience."