3 Ways To Encourage Impulse Buys

With the holiday shopping season quickly approaching, there will be a lot more shoppers in the malls pretty soon. And with an increase in shoppers comes an increase in opportunities for store owners to encourage impulse buys. Impulse buys are purchases that are not necessarily planned by customers when they walk into a store. However, due to some strategic advertising and layouts, your company can cash in on the extra spending shoppers decide to do on the spot.

How do you encourage impulse buys? Here are three ideas:

1. “Wow” customers the moment they enter your store. It should go without saying that your store should be decorated for the holidays once the holiday shopping season starts. However, it’s just as important to ensure that there are eye-catching displays and signage visible at the front of the store to bring attention to your products and their prices. On MoneyCrashers.com, Jacqueline Curtis refers to this section as the “decompression zone”.

“It’s meant to get you into the frame of mind to shop,” she explains, “Most decompression zones have friendly greeters, ads posted on the walls, and some of the store’s best deals on display…In clothing stores, the decompression zone is the inviting space at the front that is laden with cute outfit ideas and even sales racks. You pass by the door and the sale catches your eye, drawing you into the store for more shopping.”

2. Strategically place products at the checkout. Most shoppers who line up at the checkout in order to pay for their items have completed their shopping, right? Not necessarily so. Impulse buys are often made right at the checkout. That is, of course, if you have eye-catching displays and products prominently showcased right by the cashiers. On VendHQ.com, Francesca Nicasio explains the importance of being strategic with product positioning.

“Part of increasing visibility (and sales) with impulse purchases entails placing the merchandise where customers are sure to see it,” she writes, “Placing products at the checkout zone is a common and highly effective tactic. Shoppers who are at the point-of-sale area are likely already in the mood to buy, so the chances of them making additional purchases are relatively higher.”

3. Showcase the fact that you accept credit cards. Many merchants make the smart move to display Visa, MasterCard and Interac logos in the front windows of their stores or at their checkout counters. In today’s world, it’s incredibly important to let your customers know that you are plastic-friendly. That way, shoppers will know that they don’t have to worry about having enough cash on them to afford their purchases.

Credit card acceptance has long been known to encourage impulse buys. For many consumers, credit card use isn’t the same as spending cash, so they’re more inclined to make bigger purchases in addition to purchases they wouldn’t otherwise make if they only could pay with cash.

Are you in a good spot to encourage impulse buys this upcoming holiday season? At Canadian POS Corporation, we’re very proud to offer Canadian merchants state-of-the-art POS terminals that process all credit card, debit card and gift card transactions. Be sure to give us a call at 1-877-748-2884 to ask us about our Countertop and Wireless models. You may also email us at info@localhost.