Research summary · Experimental study · 2007
Scent and music in waiting lines: effects on customer satisfaction
In a study of 607 people in a financial-services setting, music and scent each increased satisfaction among customers kept waiting in a queue and reduced “queue rage”. The study also proposed that customers differ in how much they value time.
Reviewed by Simon Faure-Field · 8 October 2026 · Based on the published abstract
At a glance
Key findings
- 607participants in the main study, after a pilot with 105.
- Highersatisfaction among customers kept waiting, with scent and with music.
- Less“queue rage” among waiting customers.
The study
Citation and study details
Citation: McDonnell, J. (2007). Music, scent and time preferences for waiting lines. International Journal of Bank Marketing, 25(4), 223–237.
Read the original: doi.org/10.1108/02652320710754015
- Study typeExperimental studyPeer-reviewed
- Sample607 participantsAfter a pilot with 105
- SettingService queuesFinancial services
- Evidence gradeB: controlled consumer experimentSatisfaction with waiting
Method
What the researchers did
The study tested whether ambient scent and music could improve how customers feel about queuing for a financial service.
Waiting for service is a persistent problem for banks and other financial-services providers. The study proposed that ambient scent could raise customers’ evaluation of a service while they wait, alongside the more familiar use of music. Focus groups pointed to financial services as a setting where waiting matters, and a pilot test with 105 people refined the approach.
The main study involved 607 participants, and the data were analysed with structural equation modelling and multivariate analysis of covariance. The study also measured how much customers value time, which the author proposed as a new way of segmenting customers.
Results
What they found
Both music and scent made waiting more tolerable.
Music and scent were each found to increase satisfaction among customers kept waiting in line.
Both also reduced “queue rage”: the frustration that builds when customers are kept waiting.
The author concludes that service points can reduce queue rage and raise satisfaction with either or both of these simple changes to the environment, or by offering targeted customers an alternative to queuing. The Roschk et al. (2017) meta-analysis includes the study as a real-world service setting with customer participants.
Limitations
Limitations
Key design details are not reported in the abstract.
The study measured satisfaction and frustration with waiting rather than sales or retention, so it does not show a financial return. Its setting, financial services, may not represent every kind of queue.
This summary is based on the published abstract and the study’s coding in the Roschk et al. (2017) meta-analysis. We have not yet reviewed the full paper, so the scent used, the setting details and the effect sizes are not reported here.
A note on the evidence
How strong is this evidence?
Supportive, but thinly documented in the sources we have reviewed.
The study is one of the few to test scent in a queue, and its finding that scent eases waiting is consistent with other service-setting research. Without the full paper we cannot judge the size of the effect or the details of the design, so it is best treated as supporting rather than decisive evidence.
For commercial spaces
What it means for commercial spaces
For banks, clinics, government offices and any service with unavoidable queues, the study suggests a pleasant scent or suitable music can make waiting less frustrating. It does not replace managing the wait itself: other research shows that the actual length of a wait shapes how long it feels far more than ambience does.
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How to cite this summary
Scent Swirl. (2026). Summary of McDonnell (2007), Music, scent and time preferences for waiting lines. Scent Research Library. https://scentswirl.com/research/mcdonnell-2007-scent-music-waiting-lines/ (last reviewed 8 October 2026 by Simon Faure-Field).
This summary is based on the published abstract. We have not yet reviewed the full paper. If you spot an error or know of a study we should add, we would like to hear from you.
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