An application on behavioral economics: The effect of music on consumption

Behavioral economics is an approach that examines the decision-making processes of consumers and other economic agents as the junction of psychology and traditional economics, considering that people have limited rationality ability in contrast to the rational individual assumption of classical economics. In this respect, behavioral economics emphasizes the drawbacks of economics using only numerical methods and emphasizes the importance of psychology and sociology. This approach draws attention to the importance of psychological elements on consumer behavior in consumer theory. The aim of this thesis is to examine the effect of music on consumer behavior within the framework of behavioral economics approach with an application. This thesis aspect, have not yet been studied much in Turkey aims to contribute to the applied behavioral economics. In this study, firstly, the historical process of behavioral economics, in the following section, the internal and external factors affecting consumer behavior are examined. In the last section, the related literature is mentioned and a field research on classical music, pop music and how the absence of music affects the individual's consumption decision is given. The data obtained from the field research were analyzed by Kruskal Wallis Test. Mathematically, the test results show that classical music increases the amount of orders per person in all selected products. These results are consistent with the relevant literature. Key words: Behavioral Economics, Consumer Behavior, Store Atmosphere, Music, Kruskal Wallis Analysis