Impulse Power

By Sherri Collins

Editor, Pet Product News International

People, in general, are impulsive by nature; what varies among individuals is how often and to what degree. There are those who almost always think things through, rarely making an impulsive gesture, while others are as quick-changing in thought and action as a cat. These lightning-fast choices can be innocuous (e.g., taking a new way home) or potentially life-changing (e.g., getting married; which is how I gained a now former husband). Where most seem to come into agreement on the type and frequency of impulse decisions is shopping. A majority of pet-product consumers buy on impulse; and their reasons for doing so are fairly consistent.

Pet Product News.com's sister consumer websites conducted polls on what drives pet owners to make impulse purchases. Across the boards, the dominate reasons were “It was on sale,” “It was a new item I wanted to try” and “I liked the way it looked.” The one category in which consumers seemingly lacked the impulsive urge was aquatic, which is understandable, given that fish don’t play with toys, go for walks or beg for treats.

Dog owners tended to choose sale items first, followed by the desire to try a new item, as did tack-shop visitors. Cat, bird and small-animal enthusiasts, in contrast, opted for new items before succumbing to those on sale, with the latter group also preferring the way something looked over a sale item.

Even though I tend toward non-conformist attitudes and behavior, I fit right into the typical cat-owner pattern: I buy on impulse when I spot an item I haven’t seen or noticed before. Sales are important to me, too, but what comes first is presenting my cats with new things, be they toys, treats, bowls or food.

Those of you who already take advantage of this impulse-buying behavior know what it takes to catch customers’ eyes and wallets. You rearrange displays by rotating bottom shelf items up to eye level; you shift end-cap items on a regular basis; you change out countertop POPs and checkout aisle items frequently; you keep your customers on the lookout for new-to-them products; in a nutshell, your displaying techniques can be as impulsive as your customers’ buying habits.

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