Can Auditory Feedback Guide Us Through the World of Invisible Mobile Payments?

Recently, I was at the well-known Dutch supermarket, Albert Heijn, using the self-scan kiosk to pay for my daily groceries. As I tapped my credit card against the terminal, no sound came from the device. Confused, I thought my payment hadn’t gone through, so I tried again. It suddenly dawned on me that the payment might now be deducted twice. Thankfully, this wasn’t the case. The next day, I made another grocery purchase, and this time, the terminal made a sound. I immediately realized how comforting that simple beep was—it reassured me that my payment had gone through. And I’m not alone in this experience. Research has shown that the beeping sounds from the cash register, signaling that the payment was received, significantly boost customer satisfaction (Reynolds‐McIlnay & Morrin, 2019).

The Shift to Mobile Payments

Today, more payments are made via mobile devices, and wallets filled with coins and paper money are becoming more a thing of the past. Our sense of financial control is no longer tangible but is visible through transactions recorded in our mobile banking apps. However, people still want to know what happens with their money and whether their payments are successful. You certainly don’t want your payment to be processed twice. When using mobile payments, there is no longer a cashier to whom you hand your cash, who returns your change, and wishes you a nice day. The absence of this human feedback in mobile payments doesn’t mean that people no longer care about tracking their financial flow.

Auditory Feedback

The sound I heard while paying for my groceries is a form of auditory feedback. This feedback includes essential information and includes visual and vibration feedback on consumers' mobile devices. Auditory feedback provides insight into the invisible mobile payment process. For example, it can be heard when a payment is confirmed, reducing customer anxiety and increasing satisfaction (Fong et al., 2022; Heller et al., 2019).

This feedback gives people a sense of control, ultimately contributing to their well-being and satisfaction (Reynolds‐McIlnay & Morrin, 2019; Van Ittersum et al., 2010). It is human that we all want to feel responsible for our outcomes, avoid negative situations, and achieve our goals (Landau et al., 2015). This desire for this control is deeply rooted in human behavior and extends to finances as well. 

With cash, we can physically hold and manage our money. However this control diminishes with mobile payments, where we rely on balance updates on our phones. Feedback helps us regain this control. It provides us with information about the status and outcome of our actions, enhancing our sense of control (Finkelstein & Fishbach, 2012; Siero & van Oudenhoven, 1995). A higher sense of control is linked to more positive outcomes, ultimately increasing customer satisfaction with their payments (Duman & Mattila, 2005; Zheng et al., 2020).

The Pain of Payment

But there’s also a downside to this auditory feedback. It makes us more aware that we are spending money, thereby increasing the “pain of payment.” This refers to the emotional discomfort associated with spending money (Zellermayer, 1996). It was thought that this pain would be lower with mobile payments due to the invisible process, which reduces our awareness of spending (Manshad & Brannon, 2021). You might think that such feedback would therefore reduce customer satisfaction…

“That’s gonna be €12.95”

Previously, research mainly focused on simple sounds as auditory feedback, like beeps or signals. However, there has been little exploration of detailed feedback that shows the exact price the consumer has to pay. This is precisely what Li and colleagues (2024) investigated in their study. Would receiving this detailed information increase the customer’s sense of control and, thus, their satisfaction? Or would the downside of auditory feedback take over, with the customer becoming so aware of the payment that the pain of paying dominates?

Through multiple sub-studies, they examined the effect of detailed auditory feedback on customer satisfaction, distinguishing between functionally and hedonistically oriented customers. The results showed that auditory feedback positively impacted satisfaction and increased the sense of control. However, it also contributed to the pain of payment, in a negative sense. For functional customers, auditory feedback led to increased satisfaction, while for hedonistic customers, it resulted in decreased satisfaction. Overall, auditory feedback had a net positive effect on transaction satisfaction due to the enhanced sense of control, which overruled the negative effect of the pain of payment. This is due to giving the customer such a strong sense of control through the feedback, allowing them to build a higher tolerance for the pain of paying (Pomerance, 2020).

Effective Auditory Feedback for Retailers

As mobile payments become increasingly common in stores, it’s crucial for retailers to optimize these payment processes to maintain high customer satisfaction. After all, a satisfied customer is more likely to return!

It’s important for retailers to understand their target audience. In an electronics store, providing detailed auditory feedback is beneficial. These customers make purchases rationally, appreciate having control, and therefore value the feedback. In contrast, for a perfumery, auditory feedback might not be as effective. Customers in these stores are there to enjoy the shopping experience and a nice smell, and hearing the price might not fit into that picture.

Ultimately, it’s about more than just the transaction—it’s the experience that stays with the customer. By using auditory feedback wisely, businesses can not only increase satisfaction but also strengthen the customer’s sense of control. In a world where payments are becoming less visible, it’s that simple sound that ensures customers leave with a good feeling—and return happily.