As
more purchases move online the candy companies are facing a dilemma.
According
to Hershey's 56% of shoppers always or often buy a snack at checkout. No doubt due in part to frustration from waiting
on long checkout lines. (Gasparro, 2017)
But
how can candy companies replicate that in an online environment?
Some are
trying to use the same technique and are offering up a variety of items at the
end of the transaction under headlines like - "have you forgotten,"
or "other people have purchased."
But a
more interesting idea might be to help consumers reach their free shipping
minimums. We've all experienced that
moment when you realize that you are just a few dollars short of free shipping,
so you buy one more item to reach the threshold. Why can't that item be a candy bar or two?
Another
option would be to offer customers a coupon to get them to add the item to
their list. Once a product is on the
list, chances are that it will remain there and be repurchased.
So what
do you think? Do you make impulse
purchases online? What prompted the
purchase, and what did you buy? Do you
think any of the ideas discussed will be effective? Do you have a different idea that might work?
Gasparro,
A & Haddon, H. (2017, October 16)
Food Companies Revamp for a Digital World. wsj.com.
Retrieved August 13, 2018, from https://www.wsj.com/articles/can-food-companies-get-people-to-make-impulse-purchases-online-1508119561
Geller,
G. (2019, December 3) Recreating The
Impulse Buy Online. mediapost.com. Retrieved
December 4, 2019, from
9 comments:
I agree with the concept, but I think it would depend on the store/brand whose website I'm on in that moment -- if I am online shopping for clothes, and I see candy options pop up for me to meet a minimum for free shipping, I would probably just buy another article of clothing. If I'm on Amazon or Seamless or another site that is more utilitarian in nature, I would probably be more likely to purchase a candy bar upon checkout to get free shipping.
The snack at checking out is a very genius idea can trigger the consumer emotion. People can consume the snack immediately. However, everything is changed on the e-commerce. Why customer add the single pack snack with excessive price and need to wait with the shipment? They could easily place an order on Amazon or Target to get a much better price deal if they need to wait to get it anyway.
I barely made any impulse purchase online because of the convenience. In the real world, people need to leave the existing store and go to another store to find out the better deal, which require time and energy. But all you need to do on the Internet is a single click. In my opinion, the free shipping method will be superior strategy to boost the candy bar sales. Most of time, people were forced to add some additional products to the shopping carts to avoid the shipping charge. They probably did not want these extra items in their original mood. Besides, a candy bar can be purchased with a future expired coupon will also work since a lot of people easily forgot they had the coupon. In addition, the candy bar can also partner with the other desert company. They can sell the candy bar as a bundle with the desert to charge a higher price. Ultimately, it can increase the sales of candy bar.
I do make impulse purchases online. Usually when I make one, it's to buy a specific item. I don't really browse on the internet with the hope of finding an item that would interest me.
I understand, respect and appreciate the hustle companies have in trying to replicate the "snack checkout purchase". In fact, those "have you forgotten" or "other people have purchased" messages have turned out to be quite useful for me in the past. When you buy an article on Amazon, before checking out, Amazon with its AI & Machine Learning technology shows you the following message: "What other people have bought with this product". I remember once buying on Amazon an air/odor diffuser and was about to forget the actual fragrance for the diffusor.
Concerning, having those "have you forgotten" messages proposing candies to customer, I really wouldn't be able to tell if this would work. I know for myself that if I'm not at least 5$ away from getting a free delivery, i won't purchase a candy. That being said, my only apprehension for companies would be is it financially worth it to sacrifice the delivery fee the customer would pay for only an extra 2-5$ (candy's price).
In the end, I don't see why companies would want to try to applicate this snack checkout model. It's just another strategy can try implementing for a quarter-long period, see the financial benefits at the end of the quarter and decide if it's worth continuing.
Allan C.
LH
I do make impulse purchases, but with reason. If something that I’ve wanted but didn’t want to pay regular price for happened to be on sale while I was shopping for another product, I would more than likely buy it. I have also fallen victim to the “free s&h” tactic; if I’m shopping online and I only need to spend a small amount more to receive free s&h, I’ll search for the least expensive yet useful item I can find to fulfill the requirement. I know it’s mental and I self-justify to relieve my cognitive dissonance but I figure, “I’d rather spend the money (more or less) that would otherwise go to s&h on something that’s actually tangible;” otherwise it would feel as though I’m throwing away money and no one wants to do that. I recently ordered two pairs of glasses online and was about $7 away from free s&h, which was about $6, so I added an anti-fog wipe (which I doubt will be very effective) and upgraded the coating on a pair of my glasses (intangible, but still beneficial). In the end, I wound up spending a few dollars more than I would have had to pay for s&h handing alone, but I was ok with that, because once I receive my order, I’ll have something to show for my money other than a cardboard box. If it’s a site I frequent and they know my purchasing habits, the “have you forgotten” method might work on me if I actually did forget to purchase that item. The “other people have purchased” method only helps me when I’m searching for something in particular to buy and I find their recommendation to be better than what I selected, which will lead me to swap the items, not buy both. As previously stated, the coupon and free s&h methods are both, maybe the most, effective.
Vanessa Says....
I believe that Impulse purchase is a way to make extra amount of money without people taking long to think about purchasing. It makes people the thought of have it, like women specially need to be prepared for anything! Also, fulfilling your purse for the “GO” because it would fit comfortably in your purse. I believe that Impulse purchasing is like a “ quick and easy”.
I have been someone who has made an impulse purchase like when I go to Sephora I see a variety of items of well known popular brands that are travel size. Now, the prices sound better than the actual regular/large product cost could be.
For online or in store, One of the ideas that could be effective is buying two items that are the same for next time when you order online, you have free shipping when you login on your rewards account. The items have to be twice from the shopping cart. Maybe it would be effective because the individual is purchasing an item that seems that its part of their daily lives and would save a trip next time to the store because the individual has enough product.
Overall, Impulse can be good and bad. It could be good because its a “grab and go” and provide you with a small glimpse of the product for you to try it and see if you like it before a big product purchase.
Also, its bad because there are some products that are high cost but isn’t enough product but its because of the “brand” thats why its very expensive.
Replicating the impulse candy bar purchase at register scenario is very unlikely from a manufacturer's point of view. Having worked at Godiva Chocolatier, who makes millions of impulse sales at department stores selling chocolate bars at cash registers like Macy's, I have some insight into the online situation.
Although free shipping is a key component of Godiva's online strategy, the online proposition of adding a single chocolate bar is a losing one from an economic standpoint. The shipping and handling costs for a single chocolate bar is more than the proceeds of the sale. Online Godiva only sells chocolate bars in like bundles of six. On their site, it makes more sense to find another prepacked low cost item or like item to reach a free shipping threshold. Certainly other sites have done similar math and found themselves in a similar situation.
In general, I think it better for online merchants to suggest related, but a lower cost item or one I've previously browsed on their site to push the dollar ring over the free shipping threshold. Another tactic Amazon uses it to show other items bought by people buying the same item. All of these tactics will lead to a far more relevant purchase and affinity for the site. Just focussing on trying to reach a free shipping goal with a small ticket item is not a winning short or long term proposition.
I do make impulse purchases online sometimes especially if I bump into a product that I have been longing to purchase. I recently made an impulse purchase of a watch that I had been eyeing for a long time because I found it on sale in one of my favorite online shops which was going for a fair price. Concerning the techniques that candy companies have adopted for the online environment, I do not think that the techniques could work in the long run. I think that most of the online shoppers including me, would opt to buy another item similar or different to what they have purchased in order to meet free shipping mark, rather than buy a candy that they would easily purchase on other platforms and get it in a few hours.
An idea that could work is to make partnerships with other successful online brands whereby they are able to offer their products to the existing online shoppers of those brands. Offering exclusive packaging or personalizing a candy could also be attractive to the shoppers which could increase candy purchases online.
I have had this "impulse shopping" experience, but only on Amazon. After I put a series of products in the shopping cart, I found that my shopping threshold still did not meet the conditions for free shipping of the products. I would browse again on Amazon and pick other things to achieve the free shipping conditions. However, the items I pick are usually household items, or items that can be useful at home sooner or later. So I will not buy candy just just for free shipping. If I want to buy candy separately, I will place an order exclusively on Amazon, instead of putting candy in the shopping cart for free shopping. Therefore, I don't think the candy company's strategy is sustainable. And candy companies want to reverse this strategy, they should start from the candy itself, such as more flavors, more exotic appearance to attract consumers' ideas.
huiwen Xu
When I was younger I would always go to the supermarket with my mom. When checking out I was mesmerized by all the treats at the register. I would often beg and plead to see if I can get a chocolate bar, Unfortunately my mother never gave in. These impulse purchases are a great way for a company to make a couple extra dollars while already making a lot from what you are already purchasing. Brick and mortar stores have this on lock as "79% impulse buys still take place in physical stores." (Abbamonte, 2018) I do not make impulse purchases online however when I am at my local CVS I would be lying if I said I did not grab a pack of gum on my out almost every time. Translating this to online is quite difficult. I noticed Domino's does it by right before you check out they ask if you want to add another said for just .99 cents. By showing how cheap the purchase can be it can also sway the decision someone makes on purchasing that specific item.
You can find more info on impulse buying here: https://www.shopify.com/retail/10-tactics-for-impulse-buying
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