Sound Scaping

What's playing on your sound system could easily get shoppers in the mood. Do you have the right stuff?

By Erinn Morgan

Appealing to the five senses is a key sales strategy for retailers around the globe. Tantalizing sights, tangible items to touch, pleasant smells, and even delectable tastes are utilized to jog customers to make a purchase.

But what about sound? This critical component to any retail environment is often an afterthought, leaving customers with a less-than-stellar auditory experience

We caught up with visionary, beat-focused experts in the top-tier optical retail arena to uncover what works—and what doesn't. Read on to get your best groove on.

L.A. Eyeworks

This high-end eyewear maker literally grew up in the '80s during one of the most creative musical eras, which has made music a driving force in everything from its designs (its first frame was called “The Beat”) and ad campaigns to the soundtracks for its three Southern California stores.

“It's been so defining for us—musicians were our first clients and the first faces in our ad campaign were Belinda Carlysle [from the Go-Gos] and Levi Dexter [from the Rockats],” says Brent Zerger, director of communications. Here's a look into how L.A. Eyeworks parlays music into retail sales.

Beat-Driven Philosophy: The prevailing music theme in L.A. Eyeworks stores, which are located in Hollywood and Costa Mesa's South Coast Plaza, is cutting-edge but not distracting. The goal is to appeal to and challenge their forward-thinking customers.

“Part of knowing the beat of the shopper is knowing what's coming down the pike musically,” says Zerger. “ We don't want them to come in and say ‘I've heard that already and bought the CD’. We want them to ask about it.” Thus, the goal is to develop a soundtrack that “surprises” customers and doesn't distract from the task at hand of selling eyewear. Adds Zerger, “Music can be a connection if you use it that way.”

How it Works: L.A. Eyeworks does not make a music soundtrack, per se, for its stores. Instead, they ask the staff what they're listening to and music mixes are put together by local deejays. “Right now, I have a seven-CD mix from a young deejay here in L.A. that I'm waiting to dig into. We'll play it for a while and see how it sounds,” says Zerger.

Sound Advice: “Whatever the beat is in your area, play it in your store for heaven's sake!” says Zerger, “no matter whether its a Dixieland band or country music.”

Oliver Peoples

This hip maker of high-end eyewear moves to its own beats. For the past 10 years, Oliver Peoples has been compiling and marketing its own soundtrack with the help of its music label Quango. With six CDs under its belt, including the latest Oliver Peoples 6, it has plenty of music to play in-store.

In the Beginning: How did OP conceive their CD series? “It goes back to when our flagship opened on Sunset Boulevard,” says Rudy Manheim, Oliver Peoples' music director/executive producer, who also managed that store for 20 years.

“I was also a local deejay playing underground music, so we were playing cool, grooving music in the store back then. It became a thing and people would say, ‘Wow, where is that music from?’” So, Manheim had a special display built to put CDs on so people could see what was being played in the store. “It was so successful that I said, ‘Hey, why not work with some of this and make a compilation CD?’ ” he says.

How it Works: The first CD, Oliver Peoples 1, was released about eight years ago to celebrate the opening of the company's SoHo store in New York City. Today, Oliver Peoples' CDs are sold via upscale retail outlets, music stores, and OP 6 is even being sold as an exclusive download on www.amazon.com. “ We play them constantly in the stores, but I also play a lot of different music, most of which we also sell,” says Manheim. “At any given time, we're selling between 10 and 15 titles. We also have listening stations set up.”

Beat-Driven Philosophy: According to Manheim, the in-store music and OP compilation CD vibe is “chilled-out Neo-Soul—nice, pretty music that everybody can listen to.” He calls it an extension of the Oliver Peoples vibe—something that is “more obscure and harder to find.”

Driving Beats: Oliver Peoples also uses music as the root of its “Summer Sessions” sale events, of which it runs six each year at its various stores. The event boasts deejays, cocktails, and $100 frames—a mix that typically brings in 300 to 400 customers.

Sound Advice: “What we play in-store is based on being not overpowering so I can have a one-on-one conversation with my client—we might be trying to sell them a progressive lens and that is the main focus,” says Manheim.