Impulse purchase: (Noun) the buying of retail goods without planning to do so in advance, as a result of a sudden whim or impulse.
We all have the impulse gene — that little itch, when we see something that looks perfect at the time, just right at that moment. You say to yourself, that looks good, price is right, and I can afford it. The purchase emanates a good feeling and for the store, increases sales.
People also often find a connection with the products that they purchase; and once that connection is made, it’s difficult to imagine living without it.
Simple as sugar. Now let’s look more macro. We see big-box stores like Target, Bed Bath & Beyond or small footprints stores, like 7-Eleven or the local Shell gas station, leveraging this valued space. The big-box stores have really cashed in; weaving a maze of impulse buys before we finally reach the cash register — impulse buys.
According to Psychology Today, there are a number of characteristics associated with impulse buyers, including being more social, status-conscious, and image-concerned. The impulse buyer may buy as a way to look good in the eyes of others. Impulse buyers are also said to experience more anxiety and difficulty controlling their emotions, which may make it harder to resist emotional urges to impulsively buying that conveniently situated item. A lot of people who like to shop for fun are also more likely to make impulse purchases. We all want to experience pleasure, and it can be a lot of fun to go shopping and imagine owning the products we see. The pleasure that’s experienced will continue to fuel more impulse purchases in order to feel good. People also often find a connection with the products that they purchase; and once that connection is made, it’s difficult to imagine living without it.
There is always more and smarter impulse buys as stores get smarter and study their customers. Fun fact: Snickers, Twizzlers and the famous Kit Kat bar — these three alone in the U.S. sold more than $1 billion in 2019, a large percentage done in the impulse area. Sugar being the most obvious impulse purchase, salt comes in second place — condoms not falling far behind.
The purpose of this article is to motivate and get more stores to put on a new lens and take another look at this area. One of my companies has really seen and experienced the sugar impulse sale. Our mini display of Dr. Jacks CBD gummy bears, positioned just by the cash wrap, will hit the sugar impulse purchase nerve.
Adult stores are very much impulse-driven businesses, but there is more that most stores can do to really amp up the cash warp impulse buy area. Positioning bowls with cock rings or condoms in this area is an obvious favorite. Now dream bigger and think outside the box to better target impulse sales. This area can make the difference in year-end results.
This area is more important today than ever before as Amazon, Ebay, Walmart, and other large web sellers keep invading brick-and-mortar. Walmart (from the bible belt), alone has 22 pages of online adult products. Ebay is endless with tens of thousands of products and free shipping.
What makes impulse purchasing so important, is that it is a place where online is at a disadvantage. It is where reality collides with the web. Retailers should take a microscope to this area as impulse purchasing is on the rise. Impulse buying gives us an emotionally good feeling, which we all need in this crazy, faster-paced world.
Richie Harris is the CEO of Lucom USA and Dr. Jack’s CBD.
