POS sounds; what are we trying to say about our brand experience as our customers are literally checking out?
If the last thing a customer hears is an annoying beep, what does that say about the brand experience? In this episode, I challenge brands to explore the overlooked world of POS sounds. An on-brand transaction tone doesn’t just signal the end of a sale- it shapes future customer loyalty and long-term spending.
Referenced in the episode are:
Want more listening suggestions? Here are a few relevant Sound In Marketing episodes to dig into.
- POS: Retail’s Weakest Link- dig into this study on the effectiveness of POS sounds.
https://pod.link/1467112373/episode/cb17fdb7df82c01d3e055839409fa15a
- The World’s Loudest Chips Bag- SunChips made a completely compostable chip bag, which was great. But it was loud...too loud.
https://pod.link/1467112373/episode/3520335b9f34509c17173b38153555db
Another big thanks to Sentient Decision Science for providing preliminary research on the subject of POS Sounds. I hope to see more and more studies to come.
Thank you also to Artlist.io and Pixabay for being such a great musical and sound effects resource. I also referenced an episode of the Inside Trader Joe’s podcast. A fun branded podcast to check out if you’re feeling Trader Joey.
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For further inquiries, email Jeanna at mailto:jeanna@dreamrproductions.com
The Sound In Marketing Podcast is produced by Dreamr Productions and hosted, written, and edited by Jeanna Isham. It is available on all the major podcast channels here https://pod.link/1467112373.
Let’s make this world of sound more intriguing, more unique, and more on brand.
of Dreamr Productionsand Sound in Marketing Learning.
I create, consult and educate
individuals and brandson the power of sound in marketing.
(00:25):
This season's title is Sonic Branding:
Case Studies, Context, and Clarityin the race for brand attention.
Sound on purpose makes all the difference.
Sound done right is a brand’s best friend.
Sound done wrong is a brand'sworst nightmare.
This episode is about POS sounds.
(00:46):
What are we trying to say aboutour brand experience, as our customers
are literally checking out?
Our story starts
with a forward thinking retail companyin Minnesota, determined
to perfect the customer journeyinto a seamless experience.
All the way to the final point- point of sale.
Cue the dream sequence.(SFX- harp glissando)
(01:13):
SOTA, a
Gen Z retail company in Minnesota,was all about mission.
It was even in its name,an acronym for State Of The Art.
All across the state, students knew that
SOTA was the place to go to exploretrending art.
This included fashionof course, but also music and art itself.
(01:35):
The walls were covered in local artistswork,
and the overhead speakersproudly played local artists.
In certain sections of the store.
There were even TVs playinglocal art house films and documentaries.
SOTA knew that what they stood for
and were all about was brand experience.
The only thing lackingin the seamless journey of inspiration
(01:57):
and intrigue was(SFX: chip reader shriek)
the sound of the chip reader.
But let's not be too criticalbecause honestly,
everyone has skipped this part.
The absolute final stage ofthe transaction is when a customer hands
over their credit card and pays
a crucial moment when a customer iseither happy or sad about their purchase.
When they are decidingif they'll come back again,
(02:20):
whether or not they'll leave a review ortell their friends about their experience.
Well, don't just take my word for it.
Here's Joe Sauer, a neuromarketingspecialist and former senior vice
president and marketing managerat Sentient Decision Science.
Of the billions of purchases that happenevery day all around the world.
Three out of four buyers
walk away from the register,feeling some form of emotional distress.
(02:44):
That highly important elementof a brand experience is largely ignored.
This is called the Peak End Rule.
But let's not get ahead of ourselves.
SOTA decidedto take action where most haven’t
and complete the purchase processin a fully branded tone,
pun intended.
(03:05):
Although they didn't have an officialSonic logo, they felt that at this time
the more crucial sonic element to focus on
was a functional sound.
They needed to replace(SFX: Chip reader shriek)
with something more friendly.
Their request for proposalwas for a successful
transactiontone for their store POS reader.
(03:26):
It needed to match the brand'svibe and mission.
It should be fun, friendly,not too busy and memorable.
It should transmit the proper intentionthat the customer had successfully
completed the purchase, and was welcomeand encouraged to return at any time.
Dreamr Productions got to work.
We proposed finding something minimalisticwith electronic elements.
(03:51):
This would keep the orchestration lightand the feel modern.
SOTA was on board.
The next step was research and creation. To get a better sense of the experience,
we walked the aisles of the storelistening.
We listened to the sounds of the shoppers,
the acoustics, the ambiance,the overhead music.
We knew that tone and frequencywere critical
(04:13):
considerations, as there werea lot of competing sounds at play.
The transaction tone needed to breakthrough the noise without being too
abrasive and pitchy.
We decided to focuson three characteristics for the tone
friendliness, happiness, and inspiration.
Although we weren't creating a sonic logo,we did need to remind people
where they were shopping.
(04:34):
It was the end of the shopping experience,and as we learned in the POS
Retail's Weakest Link episode,the peak end rule matters a lot.
We'll get more fully into thattowards the end.
Here is the result.(The Transaction Tone- sound)
In addition, we crafted a couple more
sounds a card removal sound(Card Removal Tone- sound)
(04:59):
And a declined transaction sound.(Declined Transaction Tone- sound)
Within all of these sounds.
We also createdcorresponding haptic rhythms.
It sounds like a lot,but Dreamr Productions is all about
preparing for the future.
Next, we worked with a POS manufacturer
to integrate the sounds into the POS systemitself.
These sounds couldthen be used for in-app purchases as well.
(05:21):
Keeping everything uniform and seamless.
Once the sounds were agreed onand downloaded into the POS system,
SOTA brought in a focus group of in-storeshoppers to try out the new experience.
The results were great.
One shoppersaid she smiled without thinking about it
when the friendly chirp indicatedthat she could remove her card.
(05:43):
She thought it was hilariousthat spending money
could make her smile and leave her feelinghappy.
What a testimonial right?
Another shopper said they
never noticed the annoying default sounduntil it was taken away.
“It was so nicenot to feel like my card would be shredded
if I didn't pull it out ASAP”, he chuckled.
The employeeshad good things to say about it too.
(06:05):
One said, “usuallywe still have to prompt the customer
to take the card out or put the card in.”
Their theory was that the obnoxious soundwas so annoying
that customers had simply learnedto tune it out as white noise.
Because of this, the tones were useless.
Funny how a sound meant to stand out
fades into the background of noise.
(06:27):
Now back to reality.(SFX; Please Take Your Seat)
It's hard to escape noise.
The world is inherently noisy,but with some purposeful decision making.
We can escape it from time to time.
That'swhat my morning coffee is all about.
(06:48):
And there's no better coffee companionthan my make sound on purpose mug.
Have you heard about it?
(Background Noise)
Sometimes sound is too much,
but the right sound
can be
perfection.
(07:09):
That's when I turn to a warmbeverage in my go to mug.
The Make Sound on Purposemug is that perfect reminder that
every strategically placed word mattersand every purposely
positioned sound.
Is perfection.
A big thank you to sound in marketing,
learning and Dreamr Productionsfor centering my day.
(07:30):
It's a nice reminder that taking the timeto make sound on purpose matters.
Get yours today.
Links can be found in the show notes.
Back to you, Jeanna.
In real life, POS sounds beyond the basic(SFX- chip reader shriek)
and the more generic(SFX- checker beep)
are largely overlooked.
Why? Those basic and generic sounds
(07:53):
do nothing for the personality of a brand.
They are not reassuring or satisfying,and most importantly,
they do not wrap the shopping experienceup into a perfectly seamless bow.
POS sounds have always come acrossas an afterthought,
something the software designershurriedly agreed on.
3 or 4 out of the box sounds so they couldmove on to more important UX design.
(08:16):
I know that I am obsessed with sound,and because of that, may be
more sensitive to it than others.
But am I really?
When you truly think about thatpart of the shopping experience,
do you think that those soundsare the best that they could be?
If you were to choose between this sound(POS chip reader shriek)
and this sound,(The Transaction Tone- sound)
(08:37):
which makes you feel
your experience was successfuland productive?
Mastercard and VISA have actually investedin this conversation.
Both credit card companieshave developed a branded tone for payment.
In case you haven't heard them.
Here's Mastercard(SFX- Mastercard payment tone)
and here's VISA.(SFX- VISA payment tone)
You know what card you've just used,
(08:58):
that the transaction has gone through,and that you can move on.
But the difference hereis that the actual purchase purchased
or the store shopped athas had no part in the end transaction.
I may know what credit cardI used, but I am not aurally prompted
as to which store.
I've just used that card in.
(09:19):
Is this a lost opportunity?
Now, before you say you have heard othersounds, give me a second.
I'm getting there.
I bring you. Trader Joe's.
This grocery store has played on and offwith the idea.
Several yearsback at Thanksgiving, you may have heard.
(SFX- turkey gobble)
Or during Halloween.(Toccata and Fugue)
(09:42):
As I'm
not a Trader Joe's shopper,I have not personally heard this happen.
However, upon reading about it, I thought,hey, what a fun and quirky idea.
It seemed to truly fit the grocery storespersonality.
I tried to find out what othershad thought of the experience.
I dug into a Reddit strand and found
it wasn't as perfect as one might think.
(10:04):
Some customers liked it,
but others found the sounds to be annoyingor off putting.
Some said they were dumbfounded,staring at the clerks or wandering
through the store trying to figure outwhere the heck that sound was coming from.
One person said it inspired themto bring cash
next time.
These sounds, although fitting for
(10:24):
the brand'spersonality, were not on brand.
They were on season.
Case in pointother stores like the Dollar Tree
and Panda Express have donethe same sort of thing in the past.
Coca-Cola, the Masters of Experience,even had a limited run
happy beep sound at checkout.(SFX- Happy Beep)
(10:51):
Although I really like Coca-Cola’s,
it was only as a campaign activation.
So again, not a mainstay situation.
This might convince you that messing withanything at all is pointless.
As I dug further into the Reddit comments,I found someone who held
my own sentiment and I quote,“I don't like the approval sound
“most readers make.
(11:13):
“It sounds more like an error sound.”(SFX- chip carder shriek)
And herein liesthe problem and the opportunity. POS
sounds playa big part in the Peak End Rule.
Here's Joe Sauer again.
Our memory of an experienceis largely dependent on what we're feeling
at the extremeor peak moment of the experience,
and what we were feelingwhen the experience ended.
(11:35):
In a 2022 research studyput out by Sentient Decision Science,
the Peak End Rule was consideredwhen it came to sound.
In an era where most CEOs and CMOsare struggling to establish,
much less sustain, meaningful and relevantconnections to their customers.
No company can afford to ignore the impactthat well-designed
(11:56):
and thoughtfully integrated sound can haveon how their brands are perceived.
Starting with somethingas simple as the payment experience.
Seeing as that
peak experience will wildly differbetween customers,
the end experience is somethingwe can more easily control.
Will these sounds be perfectout of the gate?
Probably not,but you have to start
(SFX-Chip card shriek)
somewhere.
(12:20):
TraderJoe's is a great example of a company
whose clientele might really appreciatea strategic check out sound.
As I did my research on the company,I found more and more hints
at sound and music promptsalready implemented within the stores.
As I spoke about in the last episode,The Ultimate Playlist,
their overhead music is very personalitydriven.
Focusing on quirky but friendly.
(12:42):
Beyond that, they also use a Bell System.
This Bell system tells the workerswhat is needed
without interrupting the experience,like a PA system announcement might.
Here's a clip from the Inside TraderJoe's podcast
where they intervieweda new employee about the sounds.
One bell
means youneed a another cashier. Two bells mean
(13:04):
you need someone to find an item.
And three means you need a manager.
Maybe their transaction tone could beindicative of those maritime bells?
Who knows,music could quite possibly play into
both their end and peak brand experience.
Can you imagine if music played intoboth sides of the Peak End experience?
(13:25):
What kind of market share powercould that lead to?
Bookending experiences with purpose
and personal touches is always a gold starin the brand playbook.
Every step we make towardsmeaningful experiences
brings more humanityto a product and a company.
And the more human a thing can be.
The more humans can relate.
(13:47):
And when we relate, we come back.
Our heart and gut
run the show 99% of the time.
If our gut tells us that TraderJoe's is our top choice,
then that's where we will shop.
Sound on purpose is a sound choice.
If you've gotten this farand still can't decide if a short sound
less than two seconds longand as insignificant
(14:09):
as a transaction soundcould make you feel one way or another.
Try this.
Place an order on the Taco Bell app.
Just as you complete the purchase,you hear this?
(SFX- Taco Bell Gong)
Tell me that
that didn't make you feel nostalgicand excited to eat your taco pronto.
How about this one?
(14:29):
Open your MacBook.(SFX- Apple start up sound)
Didn't
that make you feel excitedand eager to be productive?
You're checking out at Target.
You slide your credit cardinto the chip reader.
Your transaction is done, and you hear.(SFX- chip reader shriek)
Sound must be made on purpose.
(14:49):
Sadly, we have reachedthe end of this episode, but fear not.
There are over 100 episodesof the Sound In Marketing podcast
to dig into and binge,and more are always on the way.
Don't forget to subscribe, share and rate.
Want more sound in marketing?
I gotcha!
Here are a few more episodesto get you started.
(15:11):
POS; Retail's Weakest Link.
Dig into this studyon the effectiveness of POS
sounds.
The World's Loudest Chips Bag.
SunChipsmade a completely compostable chip
bag, which was great, but it was loud.
Too loud.
(15:31):
Sound In The Shopping Experience.
Interac, a Canadian debit card company,
used sound to help their customers shopmore mindfully.
Another bigthanks to Sentient Decision Science
for providingthis preliminary research on POS sounds
(15:52):
that helpedinspire the episode, as well as others.
I hope to see moreand more studies to come.
Thank you also to Artlist.IO and Pixabay
for being such a great musicaland sound effects resource.
I also referenced an episodeof the Inside Trader Joe's podcast,
a fun branded podcast to check outif you're feeling Trader Joey.
(16:13):
If you like the transaction toneor any of the other episodes,
please follow and give a share.
More people should know about this stuff.
I know you know that now.
All links will be provided in the shownotes.
Let's make this world of
sound more intriguing,more unique, and more and more on brand.