E-Commerce hasn’t reduced the importance of impulse purchases. In fact, it’s opened new opportunities for retailers. The 17% of shoppers who identify themselves as “impulse buyers” tend to be young, tech-savvy and spend a significant amount of time on their mobile devices, and 46.9% of this group are influenced by social media and mobile ads, compared to 40.3% for the average shopper, according to Numerator.
Impulse shoppers are more than twice as likely to enjoy browsing new displays and trying new things compared to the average consumer, and are 1.6X as likely to be deal-focused brand switchers. They spend more on hair accessories, bath additives and lip care products online than the average shopper.
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These impulse buyers also make brick-and-mortar-style impulse purchases online. For example, gum is one category that’s gaining e-Commerce traction, and the right marketing is vital to making the transition. Trident’s heavy investment in social and mobile ads helped it achieve an 18% online market share, which is two percentage points higher than its offline market share.
In comparison, Wrigley’s 23% online market share is significantly lower than the 38% share it holds in brick-and-mortar sales. The brand’s lack of online success may be due to its marketing strategy, which puts less of an emphasis on reaching shoppers through their mobile devices.
Additionally, impulse buyers’ interest in trying new brands is a boon to smaller brands. Much of the market share lost by Wrigley online is being taken by smaller gum brands, which together hold 27% of the e-Commerce market, compared to just 9% of the offline market.
