As we've been discussing youth and music in class, I wanted to revisit the horrendous music that blares in stores such as Abercrombie & Fitch, Forever 21 and H&M. If profit is the goal of these retail stores, then why do they play music that makes me want to run out the door?
In fact, the raging vibrations of techno music not only make my head spin, but make me avoid even stepping foot in the premises. It's no wonder that my heart starts racing and beads of sweat start forming when I enter Forever 21 or any other store that bares a startling resemblance to a club. I mean, really, are we supposed to be shopping or raving? Sometimes, it's hard for me to tell the difference.
For the upcoming project, my chosen outlet is Intermix, a New York-based women's apparel chain. With more upscale merchandise, this boutique attracts a different customer base than does Abercrombie & Fitch, etc. Though I wont create a playlist that will put shoppers to sleep, it certainly wont cause them anxiety.
Wait, you revisited an H&M? Where?
I have a propensity to go to Express Fashion but I have an incredibly hard time staying there for more than seven minutes--long enough to hear approximately three songs at approximately 190 dB. By the time I've found something to get, I'm so anxious to get the hell out of there that I oftentimes just want to drop it and go. Under those circumstances, I can't think, I can't focus, I just want to go home.
Express should permit the checking out of noise-canceling headphones upon entering for those not inclined to enjoy deafness.
First of all I think that H&M and Forever 21 have a completely different market in mind compared to Abercrombie & Fitch, and they obviously do a good job appealing to their market as their sales are always sky-rocketing. I currently shop a lot at Forever 21, and always go to H&M when I am in a city that has one. I think the music there works, at least is does for me, because a) I usually spend at least an hour in the stores to get through all the merchandise, and b) a lot of the clothes I get there I wear out, so when I am shopping for clothes to go out in, I am in a "going out" mentality, so the music fits my mood. Forever 21 and H&M are extremely trendy stores, so they are going to want to play hip and upbeat songs to stick with their image.
Well I’m not going to hide on this one. I worked at Abercrombie for at least four years and while working there I actually made friends with a lot of higher up management in the company. The company is run really well. Everything is planned down to how the underwear tags should be sticking out so customers wont see the price right away. As for the music it is insane. They actually have specialists that set around and find the most upbeat hippest music around. It is exactly how we discussed in class, but don’t just think they pull anything they want, these songs actually go through various tests with focus groups.