Advertisers and researchers have long known of the effect that ambient music has in guiding a customer’s subconscious. New studies suggest that this effect also includes music volume, and that a simple turn of the volume button may significantly affect sales. That probably sounds like music to any managers’ ears!

So what volume should you adopt to boost your sales?

Let’s take a look at one of the latest findings on music volume and their implications for your food venture.

How would NIKE in uppercase fit differently to both men and women consumer decisions, compared to head & shoulders in lowercase? And what subtle effects had switching PEPSI to pepsi in 2004, after the brand case had been uppercase for 32 years? The present research in neuromarketing explains what effects letter case might have on consumer decisions. UBER and lyft seem to provide similar services, although their brand case might appeal specifically to either men or women.

What does the typical neuromarketing study look like? Let’s visualize for a moment what typical respondents go through in the hour they visit the neuromarketing lab.

First and foremost, there’s some brain scanning device involved, such as EEG or an fMRI scanner. Secondly, there are marketing stimuli the respondent has to interact with, oftentimes tv commercials, websites or pictures.

Next, imagine what the lab looks like. In the case of fMRI, the respondent lies flat in a turbine-shaped machine. EEG is a simpler and more flexible technology, allowing for lab designs simulating a comfortable living-room setting.

But still, there’s one essential thing missing. One thing that’s present all the time in real life, but completely lacking in almost any neuromarketing study. The answer? Other people.  

As shoppers, we have learned to be wary of what we purchase and how. We research information and find the ‘best’ products for ourselves and with a heavy dependency on technology, we can now do this wherever we have access to WiFi or data. Six out of 10 mobile users begin their shopping journey on one device, but continue or finish on a different one. Mobile devices provide us convenient access to any form of content, which leads us to incorporate mobile-shopping into our habitual routines.

Habitual routines can actually benefit retailers, especially for those in a competitive environment. Two positive things happen: one, the habitual interactions provide consumers convenience, reinforcing their experiential state of being in a relationship with a brand, which leads to loyalty. Two, the dependency on their habitual routines will mean that consumers are relying on their automatic thinking and will therefore, spend less time considering alterative brands.

Brainwashing that has gone green

There has been an increasing amount of warnings about climate change and its rash consequences in the media. For some, attempts to preserve the Earth for the future generations became a cool trend. As a result of this, all sorts of green products have been filling the shelves.

But what makes a green product? Does a green can make a soft drink environmentally-friendly? Can we call a regular shampoo a green product by adding one natural ingredient? Such a practice of highlighting only a few green attributes is called greenwashing.