You’re standing in line at the checkout counter in the grocery store, and spy that rack of batteries. You know that some of your favorite gadgets are going to quit running because their batteries are running low. So you grab a pack of batteries and add it to your collection of groceries. It was a quick, impulse sale.
Or you’re shopping in the mall, and you walk by a kiosk that has the most fascinating costume watches on display. On impulse you walk over, try one or two on, and out comes your purse and you now are the proud owner of an eye-catching accessory item – one that may or may not tell the time all that well, but sure looks cool.
Does this apply to the Internet as well?
It certainly does.
But If an item in an online store is going to work as an impulse sale, it is going to be on one of two bases:
- It is an “upsell” or add-on – some item a person can add to their shopping cart when they are buying something else. An online flower shop will have balloons and stuffed animals, for example.
- It is so cute and interesting that it goes “viral” and articles, blog postings, TV talk shows and the like send traffic to the site just to buy that item. The Hillary Clinton nutcracker is a good example.
In either case only a lower priced item is going to get impulse sales, usually under $20 before tax and shipping.
If you have or are thinking of opening an online store, it is worth considering if you have or can add such items to your inventory. They can be a huge addition to your bottom line as by their very nature they are high profit margin.
Marketing them has its own rules. You don’t spend a lot of time explaining features and benefits. Use high impact imagery (and possibly audio) and make it really easy to complete the purchase.
