Paul McCartney’s Wonderful Christmastime tops list of Christmas songs you can’t avoid

New analysis from the in-store music specialists at Startle has revealed which songs are heard the most over the festive season.

Startle analysed internal playlist data, including over 39,000 songs played in thousands of retail and hospitality businesses last December, to uncover which Christmas songs are the most repeated, and how early you’re likely to start hearing them.

According to James Picken, a music expert at Startle, retailers begin their ‘soft launch’ of Christmas songs around mid-November, when one in five tracks turn festive. “It’s subtle at first, but by December, escaping the Christmas music is a losing battle,” he said.

“From the beginning of December, the number of Christmas tracks doubles. You’ll probably hear one festive song every other track, and by Christmas week, it’ll be 100 percent Christmas music, all day, every day.”

Paul McCartney’s Wonderful Christmastime is the most played festive track – amassing over 77,000 plays. Andy Williams’ It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year is the second-most-played song during December. This track was played 77,071 times.

Williams’ song was played nearly 16,000 times more than the next most popular song, which is Mariah Carey’s All I Want for Christmas Is You.

The analysis also highlights a trend in festive in-store music, while modern pop songs are added to playlists, classic Christmas tracks dominate. In fact, Sabrina Carpenter’s Santa Doesn’t Know You as I Do, which was played nearly 53,000 times, is the only song within the top ten that was released in the past five years.

Other festive favourites include Jessie J’s Man with the Bag and the Jonas Brothers’ Like it’s Christmas, which were each played over 60,000 times during December last year.

Picken added: “Brands use music strategically to influence mood and spending. These classic, familiar tunes create a sense of nostalgia and comfort, encouraging shoppers to linger longer in-store. While some people might complain about hearing the same songs repeatedly, there’s a method behind the festive madness.”

Image credit: Parlophone