Turn up the volume if you’re feeling lonely: The effect of mobile application sound on consumer outcomes

Though mobile applications ubiquitously feature sound, consumers often engage with mobile devices with the audio disabled. This research seeks to address whether mobile app developers should simply accept this reality or if they would be better served by striving to have consumers enable audio. Specifically, we examine the impact of the presence of sounds embedded within mobile applications on downstream behavioral intentions. Critically, such intentional product sounds (i.e., sounds that are deliberately embedded in a product; Van Egmond, 2008) are shown to influence perceptions of social surrogacy (i.e., the imagined presence of others). Across five studies, we provide evidence that the use of intentional sounds in mobile applications increases evaluations of the app and leads to higher app adoption intentions, willingness-to-pay, and likelihood to recommend the app to others. Further, we offer support for the mediating role of social surrogacy in driving the effects of intentional sounds on consumer outcomes.