Bliss at airport after OE

Duty-free store Regency is turning off advertising on some of its in-store screens to welcome nostalgic New Zealanders home with local music.

Regency/Nuance Group's multi-media manager Craig McKay said the company was playing Dave Dobbyn's Welcome Home video on three screens in its Auckland International Airport arrivals store.

"It evokes emotion," McKay told the OpenEye Digital Summit this week.

Additional songs would be added, he said, after the company noticed nearby seats filling with people stopping to watch.

The idea was to draw people into the store and had been tested for about a fortnight.

Music played an important role in the company's store environment, said McKay. Sales were said to rise when slower music was played but faster music could be used to keep people moving.

Classical music encouraged shoppers to buy higher-ticket items, and romantic strains kept people in shops longer.