Supermarkets pause repetitive Christmas songs to spare staff sanity

Some supermarkets will not be playing Christmas music in their stores this year, as a clinical psychologist warns of the effect on shop workers unable to escape the festive playlists.

While John Lewis has ramped up its Christmas efforts, playing recorded music in-store for the first time, Marks & Spencer has opted to not play festive hits at all.

Asda will replace Christmas music with other playlists for one hour every day from 15 December, during which staff are invited to pick the tunes.

The changes come after clinical psychologist Linda Blair told Sky News earlier in the Christmas shopping season: "Music goes right to our emotions immediately and it bypasses rationality.

"It might make us feel that we're trapped - it's a reminder that we have to buy presents, cater for people, organise celebrations."

Blair added: "people working in the shops at Christmas have to tune out Christmas music because if they don't, it really does stop you from being able to focus on anything else. You're simply spending all of your energy trying not to hear what you're hearing."

Despite efforts from some retailers to reduce or even remove Christmas playlists from their stores, Sainsbury's has upped the stakes for 2017, not only playing music in its cafes as before, but also throughout its supermarkets for the first time.

A report by the Sunday Times claims some shop workers will be treated to Jingle Bells up to 300 times during the Christmas shopping period.