The hospitality industry, along with leisure and retail have been some of the most impacted sectors since the start of the Covid pandemic. Now that shops and venues are starting to reopen across the country, it has never been so important to create a welcoming atmosphere for new and returning customers… but how do you create the right atmosphere?

Besides the general architecture of a venue, to offer warm welcome it is essential to create the right balance of lighting, interior design and hospitable staff. But by far the most important element of this balance, and one that can be overlooked, is music. Music can set tone, reflecting the style and atmosphere of your brand instantly.

Following sight, sound is the strongest impulse in cross-modal psychology according to Professor Charles Spence. Cross-modal perception occurs when two or more senses interact with each other, which can heavily influence a customer’s ‘Approach or Avoid’ reaction. This is the vital difference between a potential client being attracted to your venue or avoiding it completely. Creating the right ambience can lead to much richer multi-sensory memories and experiences. Top tier brands are now exploring sensploration to investigate how their sales could improve dramatically as the links with sound become more apparent.

Additional research has also shown how the impact of the tempo, the tone and genre of music can have an effect on customer foot traffic. Slower music will naturally reduce the speed of customer movement through an establishment whereas fast paced music may decrease the amount of time a customer spends in an establishment, if not used in the correct manner. Another example presented by Professor Charles Spence is how in a food establishment the pitch of music can affect a consumer’s experience. High pitch music may bring out the sweetness of a dish whereas deeper tones may bring out the bitterness of a dish, maximise superadditive and allow senses to work together to enhance an individual’s experience.

The tone, along with genre of music, can impact purchasing choice and price points. In the same manner that the quality of linen or cutlery can affect a customer’s impression of an establishment – the right music within an environment has a direct connection with the amount a customer may be willing to spend.

Auracle Sound has been live streaming commercially licensed music channels to businesses across Europe since 2006. An established and reputable service with years of industry experience Auracle has offices in London and Berlin servicing the UK and Europe directly. Auracle Sound has a wide knowledge of the market forces and what it takes to get the music right.

Thousands of new music releases are showcased everyday around the world from major labels, independent artists, digital distributors through to music blog aggregators - there is just too much choice for many businesses. To assess what music sets the mood best for a venue an abundance of time is needed.

This is where Auracle Sound’s expertise can help. They supply the retail, hospitality and leisure industries with over 40 live channels in every conceivable genre of background music. These channels are frequently updated and randomised to create a spontaneous soundtrack each day. By building an ever expanding library of music with unlimited updates Auracle forgoes the repetition experienced from traditional hard disc services with more limited playlists. For Auracle Sound it is imperative that the initial library is large enough for the listener not to sense any repetition both for staff morale and repeat customers.

With the advent of better broadband IP - audio streaming has become a reality. Auracle offers larger licensing limits which gives the customer a greater selection of music starting out and access to unlimited updates.

Another important part of keeping the channels up to date with new, well recognised releases is so the popular music stays current. Of course, some genres of music are timeless and in those circumstances the key is rotation. The regular updates make sure that the channels are refreshed with dated songs being replaced to keep your music selection unique.

Auracle Sound also offers a more personalised service for larger brands who wish to create custom signature stations. This kind of audio branding or DNA profiling identifies your brand's sound and represents that in a signature soundtrack. Creating the right atmosphere in a vast range of establishments from Shops, Restaurants, Bars, Hotels, Gyms, Spa's, Trampoline Center's and all sorts of public performance areas.

With over a decade of experience, Auracle has their own in-house team to handle any specific requests. They also work with some of the best specialist music consultants in the business. Auracle can create custom playlists and deliver a timetabled schedule of music within an agreed time frame.

Ultimately the right music can create a sense of timelessness, creating the right atmosphere where your audience is completely immersed in your environment. Whether the listener is browsing the aisle, rail, menu or relaxing with a drink they will feel comfortable in doing so.

If there is sensory dominance leading to the wrong atmosphere, this can lead to a loss of sales but perfecting the ambience which compliments all of the other atmospheric elements of your business can lead to a sharp increase in sales.

At this time, as we once again welcome new and returning customers during and thereafter the "Eat Out to Help Out" campaign, it is absolutely crucial to create the right ambience for your establishment. Businesses now need to think about how they can keep customers coming back time and time again even after the discounts approved by Chancellor Rishi Sunak have stopped.

For your business. Contact us via phone, +44 (020) 7112-7504, email us at 

info@auraclesound.co.uk or visit our website today auraclesound.co.uk