According to the survey done by CreditCards.com, 5 out of 6 Americans and 90% of Millennials usually spend on impulse buying. This means a lot of shoppers spend money on unplanned purchases.
Also, 54% of the purchases of impulse buyers are from online channels, according to a study from Whistl. There are varying factors that can further encourage impulse buying, though.
In this article, we will discuss impulse buying and determine various ways to encourage unplanned purchases online.
What Is Impulse Buying?
Impulse buying is an unplanned purchase. This means it is not similar to the regular purchase where you buy something you need.
According to Psychology Today, people who shop for fun tend to buy impulsively. This is because they experience pleasure while shopping, which pushes them to purchase products spontaneously.
If you notice, the checkout lines in stores are usually well lit and have appealing products on the shelves. These products trigger customers’ interests, inducing them to get products and check them out before tossing them in their cart.
Without physical triggers, e-commerce shoppers need something that can provide them with a sense of fun that encourages them to purchase more. Hence, make sure to give them an exciting and engaging customer experience with every visit to encourage them to visit your site to shop regularly.
Ways to Encourage Impulse Buying Online
That said, here are excellent ideas to encourage impulse buying online and provide your customers with a great experience shopping in your store online.
Make Product Suggestions
It is crucial to act as a guide to your customer during the shopping process. As shoppers add items to their carts, provide them with a list of similar products at the bottom of the pages. Then, just like retail stores do with lighting and signs at checkout, utilize the same idea to attract shoppers to the product you would like them to buy.
Therefore, you must understand your products so you can suggest the right items to your customers.
Another strategy retail stores use to guide customers is to put impulse-but products close to expensive, in-demand products. This method is effective as customers may be at a store for a particular product, but if they see something that meets their interests, they tend to buy it.
Check out our article on best WooCommerce Product Recommendations plugins.
Use Low-Price Products to Ask for an Upsell
An average shopper will not spend $1,000 on an impulse purchase. For that reason, price is a crucial factor in choosing products to use for impulse display.
The checkout process is identical to waiting in line in a physical store. So, before the shopper clicks on checkout items, you can introduce some affordable impulse items to encourage them to get more products.
Keep all impulse products under $20 to boost purchase values with items customers are ready to get without a second thought.
Also, you may use your designated impulse purchase areas to introduce products that are on sale. This way, you can keep impulse prices down and encourage shoppers to buy more.
Boost revenue with upsell strategies.
Free Shipping
According to a survey done by Return Customer, most customers (up to 93%) preferred free shipping over other benefits, such as exclusive bonus products and discounts. It is because they feel that they are getting something for nothing. It may cost you more money to offer free shipping but keep in mind that you can always use higher-priced products to compensate for its cost.
Another option is to determine the value of your average order, then set a free shipping minimum of $20 above it. This can impact customer buying behavior and encourage impulse buying as well.
After all, having a minimum purchase amount for customers to qualify for free shipping will encourage them to add more items to their cart to get the special offer. You may even recommend low-priced products that will help them get to the minimum requirement but are actually impulse purchases.
A detailed guide on WooCommerce free shipping.
Utilize Social Media
Social media platforms, such as Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram, help users find the products they are looking for. With billions of active users on these sites, there are heaps of opportunities to promote your products to a large audience and stimulate impulse buying.
It became easier for e-commerce sellers to promote their products and increase their sales through social media. For instance, if a user sees a product they want on Instagram, they may look for a product tag and purchase the item on the correct platform.
This way, you still get the sales, and the user would not be interrupted while browsing. In addition, this is a simple way to boost impulse buying as the user can purchase a product that they can see easily while surfing on social media.
Make sure your social media profile is a business account so you can have access to features that can help you promote your products.
Offer Special Discounts
Discounts are an excellent tool to get customers’ attention and stimulate sales. However, it is not practical if you often offer discounts. It is because it will make your products look overpriced.
A solution for that is to offer special discounts at some times of the year. For instance, offer discounts to celebrate a company milestone, around the holidays, or during your yearly customer appreciation event.
How to surprise customers with dynamic discounts?
Promote these special offers through an email newsletter or on social media. You have to attract lots of people to your shop, make them take advantage of the offer, and provide them with an exceptional shopping experience to encourage them to buy more.
Utilize Social Proof
Customers tend to buy items that people are buying. This means shoppers are often influenced by people around them. For example, many people buy Beats Headphones and iPhones because they show up everywhere, and people think they need to have them.
Utilize social proof to promote your products and encourage customers to buy impulsively. Suggest items that other customers have recently purchased to boost impulse buying.
So when a customer checks out your website and finds out that other shoppers have purchased a certain product, this can influence the customer to buy that certain item. This would make them think that the product is worth it because many people buy it.
Social proof is equivalent to testimonials and reviews. The more people purchase a product, the more customers are eager to buy the item.
Gamification
E-commerce sellers are now using the method called gamification, where they provide discount codes or other rewards through games, such as timers on offers, prize giveaways, sharing of product pages, and more. This method encourages customers to make impulse purchases because of the rewards offered by a shop.
Use Social Listening Tools
Another way to encourage impulse buying is to use social listening tools to find prospective customers whose needs are unmet in real-time. For instance, if there’s a popular topic on social media, such as Facebook or Twitter, relevant to your products, you may join the conversation to engage with potential customers to promote impulse buying.
How to Maximize Impulse Buying
With all the suggestions, it is essential to research and get to know your customers. Do a survey, analyze the products they buy, and review their questions and concerns. The more you know about your customers and the types of products they tend to purchase, the easier it is to encourage them to buy items without having a second thought.
