It's OK to admit it. Each of us has been in a checkout line in the grocery store, glanced at the array of mints, candies and nail clippers next to us and bought something we had no intention of purchasing when we came into the store.

Those impulse sales are important enough to grocery stores that they allocate space for them right in high-traffic areas, easily within reach of customers, and positioned to allow a touch-and-take impulse purchase. Impulse sales should be that important to your store as well.

There are two kinds of impulse purchases. First is the "out-of-the-blue" purchase. Your customer had no intention of buying anything at all in that category. But—when she saw it, she liked it.

The second kind of impulse sale is the "something-but-I-don't-know-what" purchase. The customer comes into the store for a primary purchase such as a book, CD or significant gift purchase. But, in the back of her mind, she is also thinking that if just the right "little something" appealed to her, she would pick it up for the women in her Sunday school class or for a neighbor or co-worker.

Are little purchases like this important to your store? Suppose your average purchase transaction is $20, a sale consisting generally of one to two items. If your customer picks up impulse items totaling just $3, that transaction has just increased by 15%. In a time when every sales dollar is precious, that can be a significant boost to a store's bottom line.

Impulse areas

Return now to your experience in the grocery checkout line. What made you buy mints or candy or nail clippers when you had not intended to? Smart retailers know that all of these generate impulse sales:

• High-traffic areas
• Close-at-hand displays 
• Touch-and-feel product merchandising 
• Grouped, low-cost items 
• Colorful, clean displays with clearly marked prices 

Finally—and most importantly—well-trained store employees generate impulse sales: "Did you see that we have bookmarks to go with that book purchase?" "Did you see the little message cards we have that you can tuck inside that greeting card?"

Take a critical look at the spaces that lead customers to your checkout counter.

Are you merchandising impulse products there effectively? Would some rearrangement of product or displays help to catch the customer's attention? Is the counter space at your register being used to generate sales?

If your counter is already well used, can you do something else—like add a table next to where customers stand—to generate more sales?

The little things are important to your customers—and they are important to your store's sales, too.

Bobbi Baugh is president of Universal Designs, manufacturers of Pass-It-On Message cards, one of the top-selling impulse products in the Christian market.

• Prev
• Next