Klemens Knoferle

Who they are

The work of Klemens Knoferle reaches this site through the paper listed below. The name is tied to Tempo and Mode Interaction.

Key papers

Knoferle, K. M., Spangenberg, E. R., Herrmann, A., & Landwehr, J. R. (2012). It is all in the mix: The interactive effect of music tempo and mode on in-store sales. Marketing Letters, 23(1), 325-337. What it reports: Field experiment in three urban Swiss department stores over twelve trading days, 2 (mode: minor or major) by 2 (tempo: slow or fast) repeated-measures design; four playlists of 24 songs, about 90 minutes each; average tempos about 85 and about 160 beats per minute; gross sales recorded hourly. Slow tempo increased sales only in minor mode: minor-slow produced 12 per cent greater sales than minor-fast; tempo made little difference in major mode. The authors note their effect is smaller than the 38.2 per cent sales difference reported by Milliman (1982) and attribute part of the gap to controls for weather and data structure. Time spent in the store was not measured; the authors suggest it as a mechanism for future research.

Key ideas

Tempo and Mode Interaction: The finding that the effect of music tempo on sales can depend on whether the music is in a major or a minor key.

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