Marks & Spencer is cutting off background music in its stores for the first time in ten years to give its customers a chance to browse in silence.
The new music-free policy will be implemented over the next few weeks at 300 clothing and home branches across the UK.
M&S food stores did not have music played.
The move comes a decade after the retailer first introduced in-store music and follows extensive feedback from customers and staff.
“We’re focused on putting the customer at the heart of everything we do,” said a spokesperson for Marks & Spencer.
Pipedown, an anti-noise group, recently staged a protest against the retailer and urged shoppers to convince M&S chief executive Steve Rowe to switch off background music in its stores.
“Millions of customers will be delighted by this news. So will thousands, probably tens of thousands, of people working in M&S who have had to tolerate non-stop music not of their choice all day for years,” Pipedown said.
Studies have found that those who suffer hearing problems and noise sensitivity can find background music disorientating.
Last month, a manager of an Asda store in Manchester has also launched a “quiet” hour to make shopping easier for customers living with autism.
Escalators will be stopped and in-store music turned down for an hour every Saturday morning in order to make it more suitable for shoppers with autism who find loud noises difficult to deal with.
“We hear time and time again from parents and autistic people that shops and other public spaces can be extremely challenging for them, because bright lights, strong smells and crowds or queues can cause them to feel overwhelmed by too much information," said Tom Madders, head of campaigns at the National Autistic Society.
The music licensing company PRS for Music said M&S stands to save tens of thousands of pounds a year as a result of turning off commercial music, which costs around £1,600 a year per 10,000 metres of shop floor space.
Steve Rowe has unveiled plans to revive the retailer’s clothing and homeware business last week as M&S reported its annual results, with underlying profit rising 4.3 per cent to £689 million in the year to April 2.
Statutory profits, fell 18.5 per cent to £488.8 million due to one-off costs of £200 million.
Additional reporting by PA
