Any business whether online or offline is there to sell something and desires to consistently increase sales. Impulse buying is something that triggers an emotion in the customer to make a purchase so try to sell the value of the product by portraying emotion but just not the benefits. The emotions get conveyed faster and have higher chances to get converted to sales. The retail market has been leveraging impulse buying due to ease of implementation. But trust, the Digital Revolution not only in all developed and developing but also in underdeveloped nations is creating new pathways for the E-Commerce platforms to implement this phenomenon.
HOW TO GENERATE IMPULSE BUYING FACTOR ON E-COMMERCE PLATFORMS
The formula is no new discovery but a clever adaption of retail impulse buying mechanism in the online sale industry.
Create a path for customers so they will be introduced to new products.
Ever wondered how you came across a recent product variant launched by your favorite brand or the launch of a completely new product from another brand ???
The differently decorated aisle in the department store grabs attention and we are attracted to check out what this new product is about. Well, it’s just not the decorated aisle but the value that it is able to convey to customers and forcing them to buy the product whether they need it or not. On an E-Commerce platform, similar attention can be grabbed if such new products are introduced to customers through small ads on screen or informing through the newsletter, highlighting in the new launch or trending product section.
Include products as a chain of elements
If you are selling a part of a product then add the chain associated with that product. This fact is well nailed by the clothing industry on the E-Commerce platform as you might have seen suggestions at the bottom of the page stating ‘Frequently bought together’. The leading E-Commerce platforms from all sectors have implemented this phenomenon. But smaller businesses need to identify which are their most sold products and try to create the chain for such products. If you lack the chain of products for your highly sold items then you need to incorporate them soon. Identify the purchase pattern and recommend items. Go for suggestion-based impulse buying.
Grab the attention through discount & deals program
It’s rare that there is a discount or deal program and a customer has not checked it. The first part of grabbing attention is fairly achieved via deals. Then the products in this section should be chosen that cater to lower cost like the chocolates we see at the billing counter in a retail store. A user in the usual scenario may not have noticed or rather bought the product but due to low cost now there is an increased chance for a purchase. Another booster can be provided by combo packages. Here the customer knows that the overall deal is cheaper and may end up trying new products from the brand and chance of further being a loyal customer.
Stay connected with recent trends and promote them on your platform
The trending products are the ones which we all buy at least once a year. There is enormous potential to increase sales through trending products. Definitely, the teams will have to do continuous research and analysis on customer patterns to leverage this in impulse buying. It also breaks the usual pattern of customer purchase and they can go for trendy items.
Try to send sample/testers of products whenever possible
We have seen many of us doing it, as when we receive a sample of a particular product we try it out (who would not try a free item), if we like it we may consider buying it which you might have already planned for purchase. But in case if it was not in the shopping list of customers it still can be added as he/she tries that product which can lead to future impulse buying.
These are not fixed or ultimate ideas for encouraging impulse buying. But they can surely help in leveraging impulsive buying. Stop not here and try to timely explore which options suit best for your business.
