I always am amazed at the plethora of junk at the CVS checkout counter. (Yes, Rite-Aid and Walgreens also have the same gazillion candy bars and gums.) Not so much at the grocery store anymore. Oh, there’s the occasional National Enquirer, soda pop, and a few candy bars, but not as many or as wide a choice as before. This doesn’t include the fact that more and more folks are getting their groceries delivered (and don’t set foot into the store itself).
That means the candy companies have to work harder to get us to scoop up their wares. (They want to maintain their $ 18 billion chocolate sales.) So do the grocery store owners. Because while the checkout counters use up less than 1% of the overall real-estate of the grocery store, these impulse buys yield about 4% of the store’s profits.
So much so that Hershey has completed a pretty lengthy research program. So they could determine the “Eight Human Truths of Impulse”. Their goal is to discern how their wares can “delight, indulge, rescue, charm, spoil (as in “you deserve it”), aspire (this applies more to magazines than candy), or to provide a really good deal”. These incentives are critical to get us to scoop up that Mounds (Hershey trademark confection) bar.
There’s a fine line between making us wait too long in their lines and having sufficient dwell time to get mesmerized by the colors, packaging, and promises of these candy bars and magazines. Yet, these impulse buys just don’t cut it at the self-checkout lines, where we are too involved with scanning our products, putting them in bags, and paying the bill to consider an impulse buy.
While I don’t buy these on impulse, I do search routinely for two of my favorite candies… Good and Fruity (these used to be made by Leaf- but now I have to rely on the goodness of Hershey to make these, since they acquired the company) and 
Chocolate Twizzlers (which used to be made by Y&S, but…. you guessed it- they are a Hershey’s product now, too.)
Which ones delight you?
Impulse buy? | http://t.co/n2sC6nKcco via @Adjuvancy
That is interesting. When we wait, we are more likely to buy. To me, the useful things are those that relate to rescue…as in, “Oops, I had totally forgotten that I am almost out of those.”
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Actually, it is another scientific fact that we are more likely to overbuy at the grocery store when we are hungry. That’s why it’s best to shop for food AFTER we eat. (Unless you always get the munchies after you eat- that would mean you need to skip the candy and cookie aisles.)
Thanks for the comment, David.
I am more of an internet impulse buyer. I know a certain person’s tricks, but I fall for them anyway.
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The perfect target for Hershey!
I must admit that I have gone completely off sweets…and I feel all the better for it! That said, I wish I could say the same of my children. I will let them read your post. They always want something next to the cashier. Always. It drives me mad…
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That’s another reason why they have the impulse buys next to the register. So the kids can grab them while mom and/or dad are devoted to watching their wares get rung up- and then acquiesce to their child’s delights.