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October 23, 2009
I don't know why but I'm suddenly in the mood for sauerkraut
I don't know why but I'm suddenly in the mood for sauerkraut

The Performing Rights Society have dug up some research on the influence that music can have on people in restaurants and bars. If you thought that you knew your own mind then think again.

One study found that diners spent more money if classical music was played in a restaurant than if pop or no music was played in the same place. Another study found that music with a slow tempo had no effect on the amount that people ate but it did encourage them to linger longer and drink more.

My favourite study was set in a supermarket rather than a restaurant but I guess that the results would be the same if the experiment was transferred. For this one, researchers piped stereotypical French and then German music through the supermarket. When the German music was being played, shoppers bought more German wine. When French music was playing, sales of French wine went up.

One to bear in mind the next time that you hear Men At Work singing Down Under and you start to feel a craving for a barbie.