Retailers that play Xmas music even though more customers hate it

[Auburngal]

Christmas music is supposed to make people's moods positive, spend more time in the shops, spend more.

In fact, customers are getting annoyed with it, feel sorry for the workers, spend little time as possible (ie shop online) and force cheer (MH issues, worried about health of loved ones)

I did 18 Christmases in retail. I hated the Xmas music being played. The thing is we try to zone it out but when customers said something on the lines of "does this music annoy you", "what a dreary song" (such as Mud's Lonely This Christmas). Then we bloody heard it! Then because more of us worked outside trade hours, as had more delivery etc to do, the music was still being piped through the tannoy. As done centrally. We put something heavy on the call button on the tannoy to stop it. One day, a manager said we could put on our own music. We put a rock channel on a colleague's streaming app and that was good.

At least we have the songs sung by the actual artists. Some retailers play cover versions by unknown artists they are worse.

I think the reason many people hate Christmas music is no other time of the year, so few songs are played to death. Also not many new decent Xmas songs(thank you Simon Cowell) . If you buy a Christmas music album today and compare with an album released 25-30 years ago in a charity shop. The only song which is different is on the CS one it will have a paedo's Xmas song (clue GG) and the new one will have such as Destiny's Child's one.

Those who love Xmas music, I tell you now, work in a place that plays Xmas music all the time and you will hate it.

I love hearing Xmas music in the shops and I worked retail for 7 years, I still love it!

I love Christmas music, and I have worked in retail for many years. I get to pick the tunes though!
I love hearing it as I go round the shops too. It's naff, but it warms my soul!

I like it!

You sound like a bit of a music snob. I worked in retail for years and loved it when we could start playing Christmas tunes.

I love it!

I do love the Christmas music, sorry! But I have never worked retail…

Those who love Xmas music, I tell you now, work in a place that plays Xmas music all the time and you will hate it.

I've worked in retail since I was 12 years old. I'm in my mid fifties now and I still love it!! 🤣🤣

I must admit I got mildly fed up during the 80s when the card shop I worked for only had 2 Christmas tapes, but shops seem to play a far bigger selection now.

I like hearing Christmas music in shops although would prefer if retailers stuck to doing it in December.

Also disagree there are no new Christmas songs. I think there were a few barren years but there have definitely been some good releases over the last couple of years.

I've got my headphones ready to play my own music in the supermarket when Xmas music starts.

We put together our own Christmas playlist. There is actually quite a lot of Christmas music which isn't all Frosty the snowman and All I wish for Christmas.
Sting has a lovely winter album, Annie Lennox, Kleismonaut, Freddy Cole, Cara Dillon, Duke Ellington's Sugar Rum Cherry...

I used to work in retail and I just tuned out the background music tbh.

I also worked in retail for several Christmasses and love Christmas songs.

There’s also quite a few newer Christmas songs that are played now that weren’t around in the 80s/90s - Coldplay Christmas Lights, Leona Lewis One More Sleep! Kelly Clarkson Underneath the Tree, various Michael Buble ones, Ariana Grande Santa Tell Me, the Ed Sheeran / Elton John one to name a few (may or may not be to your taste but they are out there!)

I hate it with a passion and feel very conflicted here. I try to support city centre retailers and avoid online shopping for Christmas but then when I go in to the shops, they make me regret it. They have the exact same play list blaring every year for 6 weeks. No variations on it and the same in every single shop, same as they often follow the same trends blindly without thought. There was 1 small independent shop I went into last year and they were not playing Christmas music and I will be making a point of visiting again.

I wish retailers would consider some sort of compromise. Ask customers what they want. Or play every 3 songs or so, or a string or piano interpretation in rotation. It takes about 5 minutes to make a playlist and they can't even be bothered.

I did my seasonal shopping last weekend - I was really (very pleasantly) surprised that none of the chain stores I went into this year had any Christmas music playing.

Maybe the penny is dropping.

I will only be visiting supermarkets between now and January and luckily our local Waitrose does not play any music at all.

I like Christmas music. I know working in retail is tough but wanting to ban Christmas music really is a bit joyless.

I think it should be confined to December for the sake of retail workers and everyone who wants Christmas to feel like a distinct event, rather than something which just bleeds through the calendar from October!
And not the same songs on a loop - wasn't continuous music on a loop used as a method to make people give themselves up in a standoff situation? Vaguely remember that from school.
I think retailers owe it to staff to include plenty of variety and not just Mud and Mariah Carey on repeat!

I love it, have always loved it and will always love it! I wouldn't say most people hate it

The variation is massively better nowadays.

Gone are the days when they popped the tired old tape/CD into the stereo and played it on repeat.

It's all digital playlists now with plenty to choose from.

I don't know why shops feel the need to play any music, drives me bananas.

OK Scrooge!

I'd say yes, you're being unreasonable

it's nothing to do with Christmas music per se, which I don't mind (at Christmas, not in October), but I'd rather shop in peace. Some shops play such horrible music I end up leaving.

They fundamentally don’t care whether we love it, hate it or are indifferent, so long as it makes us buy more. Which, apparently, it does. So we are stuck with it.

Explain this. Toy retailer chain The Entertainer plays Xmas music from mid October. Yet close on Sundays as CEO is a devoted Christian!

I wonder if they have studies on it @bridgetreilly . I'd be very interested to know the patterns. I can't imagine that someone would spend more because they hear a Shakin Stevens song. Retailers seem to complain a lot about online sales ruining them but then annoy customers by asking for their emails at the counter (see other recent thread!). I sometimes wonder do they ever stop and think at all.