How to target impulse purchases in store

Freshly prepared foods, nutritional drinks/supplements, cosmetics and frozen foods are the best opportunities for drug store retailers looking to cash in on customer impulse purchases at brick-and-mortar locations. For example, consumers are 9.4% more likely to purchase frozen foods on impulse in stores compared with online, Nielsen revealed in its inaugural “Understanding Today’s Omnishopper” report released last month.



“Consumers really want to explore prepared items and cosmetics in store, as actually seeing those products and experiencing them gives them the confidence to buy on impulse,” Jordan Rost, VP consumer insights at Nielsen, told DSN. “It really is a unique opportunity for brick-and-mortar retailers.”



Conversely, grocery, household care, snacks and personal care items are more popular online impulse purchases. Impulse grocery items are most pronounced, with consumers 5% more likely to purchase these products online versus a physical store.



“The traditional thought with e-commerce has been that it is not an impulse play because there is a lack of immediacy, as people who buy online have it show up two days later,” Rost said. “What we’re finding is this simply is not true. It’s important to help inspire them to buy a new product beyond what was on their mind when they entered the store.”



Online consumers are more inclined to try new products and less interested in specific brands, he added.



Rost continued that to best succeed, retailers should eschew approaches that single out in-store and online purchases individually in a silo. Instead, they should consider the consumer path to purchase across all channels.



“It’s less about what channel consumers are shopping in and ultimately what they are trying to solve for,” Rost said. “ … Retailers need to plan a holistic strategy that includes all channels.”



Technology is rapidly changing the consumer experience, whether they prefer to shop online or in store, he concluded. “People have come to expect the immediacy of shopping online. We are seeing that play out in stores, as well. Technology makes the whole shopping process in store more frictionless and helps consumers get to what it is they want.”