(published in the March/April 2008 issue of Tobacco Retailer magazine)
We’ve all done it. We stop at a store to pick up a particular item, when our attention is caught by something else that we decide we need. Impulse buying is a mysterious yet well-known phenomenon. Money magazine estimates that two-thirds of all purchases are unplanned. Savvy retailers can tie into their customers’ spontaneity by stocking plenty of those extra little items that tweak the buying urge.
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Obvious Impulse Items . . .
For tobacco retailers, smoking-related knick-knacks are the most logical impulse items to carry. The Lighter Leash®, patented by Barproducts.com of Largo, Florida, is therefore a natural.
The Lighter Leash is a retractable holder on a strong 36-inch nylon cord that clips conveniently to clothing and gives quick access to any standard size lighter (sold separately). Lighter Leash was the brainchild of Barproducts president Mark Hastings, whose background as a bartender had taught him how hard it was to keep a lighter handy to light up his customers’ cigarettes.
The Original Lighter Leash clips snugly to a belt, pocket or skirt, and retails for $1.99. The Premium Lighter Leash is designed to clip to belt loops or purse straps and retails for $2.99. Both the Original and Premium Lighter Leashes are also available in mini sizes to carry smaller or slimmer standard lighters.
Lighter Leashes come in a variety of colors so customers can match the color of their favorite brand lighters. Lighter Leash provides 30-count and 60-count standard display units which include countertop jug displays or header cards with clip strips for vertical presentation. Lighter Leash can also design custom displays (working with in-house or third-party merchandise presentation coordinators) for use with private label logos.
“Although convenience stores and chain drug stores are definitely our largest market, Lighter Leashes are also ideal for tobacco shops,” says John McCall, director of North American sales for Lighter Leash. “It’s the perfect match to any standard lighter. The display units look great next to lighter racks at the checkout counter, and the small packaging and low pricing definitely help drive impulse buying.”
Lighter Leashes come with a money-back guarantee to retailers and distributors if they don’t sell, but McCall says that usually isn’t a problem. (The company boasted last quarter sales figures of about $400,000.) “You may easily double the profits of your lighter category with the addition of Lighter Leashes,” he says. “It’s a proven high volume sales item. People who buy them will usually buy a lighter, too, and come back for another lighter when it’s empty. We supply anywhere from 35,000 to 60,000 retailers all over the world, and many of them go through a display unit every week.”
Lighter Leash also offers other retractable products that can help drive impulse buying such as the Zip Stick® (a retractable lip balm reel), the FlashTender® (a retractable combination lighter and bottle opener) and the L.E.D. Lighter Leash, a limited quantity item that flashes tiny L.E.D. (light-emitting diode) lights when the cord is pulled.
Another product made especially for smokers which can add up to increased sales if prominently displayed by checkout counters is the Smoke-n-Odor™ Smoke-out candle, carried by The Candle Chateau of Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
“Our Smoke-n-Odor candles are great for smokers who share an environment with non-smokers or who just want a different fragrance in the room,” says Candle Chateau owner Boyce Duncan. “Smoke-n-Odor candles use a specially formulated heat-activated process that both neutralizes cigarette odor and replaces it with another scent.”
Smoke-n-Odor products come in about 40 different fragrances, although Duncan says that the fruit scents such as Apple, Berry, Orange, and Peach are the most popular. Except for special seasonal fragrances such as Christmas Tree and Holidays, which are not available in tins and votives, all other fragrances are available in a variety of styles, shapes and sizes. These include 9-oz. hexagon, 16-oz. apothecary, 26-oz. apothecary, 4-oz. crock jars, votives, and Tin-Can-dles™, which are especially convenient for traveling.
Lighters are probably the most popular accessory items that tobacco retailers carry, but you can also stoke impulse buying with them by offering something in addition to the usual brands. Lucky Sales, Inc., a Greer, South Carolina-based distributor of lighters and other products, offers unusual novelty lighters shaped like such objects as baseball bats, guitars, and vehicles, as well as larger table lighters.
“We carry over 100 styles of novelty lighters because they’re good for impulse buys,” says John Ma, manager of Lucky Sales. “Novelty lighters grab people’s attention because they’re something a little different from the run-of-the-mill pocket lighter.”
. . . And Some Not-So-Obvious Impulse Items
Impulse buys do not necessarily have to be tobacco or smoking-related in order to be a winning item for tobacco retailers to stock. The essence of impulse buying is that it can be triggered by any small, conveniently-placed article that may or may not have anything to do with the product we originally intended to buy.
In addition to its electronic, disposable, and novelty lighters, Lucky Sales also offers items such as sunglasses (in designer, clip-on, hologram and children’s styles), reading glasses, pouches and cases, key chains, and health and beauty products such as toothbrushes and grooming kits.
“People are always losing things like sunglasses or key chains,” says Ma. “If you have a display of them conveniently placed near the register, it reminds them that they need to replace them.”
Los Angeles-based Eagle Distributors, Inc., a major supplier to the convenience store industry, carries a myriad of other incidental articles that can spur impulse buying. It re-packs brand-name over-the-counter medicines such as Advil®, Nyquil®, Alka-Seltzer®, Pepto-Bismol®, Excedrin®, and Motrin® in convenient blister packs as well as 25-count and 50-count dispensers. It offers its own brand-name of Kiran® shaving razors, shaving cream, nail clippers, and air fresheners. It also carries general merchandise such as band-aids, bottle openers, batteries, miniature toys and games such as dice and dominoes, and even long-stemmed roses with vases.
Items like these utilize shopping psychology. Customers may not know they need a particular article at first, but if they see it, it makes them think “Yes, I could use that.”
Price Master Corporation of Woodside, New York, another major distributor of convenience and dollar store products, works on the same principle. It carries a product list of more than 3000 leading brands such as Duracell®, Tylenol®, Trojan®, Colgate®, BIC®, Chapstick®, Kodak®, Pop Rocks®, and Bubbaloo® -- all meant to remind customers of articles they need or even simply would like to have.
“The kind of products carried by the retailers we supply depends on where they’re located and what kind of store they are,” says Imat Dawoud, vice president of sales for Price Master. “But the hottest item right now that all of our stores are really demanding is the 5-Hour Energy drink made by Living Essentials. These drinks could be a good impulse item for smokers, also, since they are supposed to give increased energy without the crash effect of other energy drinks.”
5-Hour Energy® Chasers are available in Lemon-Lime, Citrus, Orange, Berry and Decaf flavors. A 2-oz. bottle contains an energy-boosting mixture of B vitamins, amino acids and enzymes, with only 4 calories, no sugar or carbs, and about the same amount of caffeine as in a single cup of coffee.
Although clothing is not a product generally associated with tobacco retailers, it is also a common impulse purchase. Although more expensive and requiring more display space than the usual small articles, a few well-chosen pieces of clothing such as T-shirts can be a worthwhile addition to a tobacco store’s impulse selection.
Bad Habits of Laguna Niguel, California specializes in supplying humorous novelty items such as T-shirts and bumper stickers to convenience and variety stores, gift and card shops, drug and dollar stores, tourist shops, and flea market vendors.
“We have a few items that are specifically geared to smoking,” says Bad Habits owner Howard Altman, “like our T-shirt that says ‘I Smoke and Drink, So I’ll Have Something to Give Up If My Health Starts to Go.’ We also have bumper stickers that say things like ‘Harassing Me About My Smoking May Be Hazardous To Your Health’ and ‘If My Smoking Bothers You, Don’t Breathe.’ These definitely make good impulse buys at places such as tobacco and head shops. We also have a lot of ‘Over The Hill’ and golfing T-shirts that can fit into these venues, as well as smaller items such as stickers and magnets.”
Where To Place Impulse Items
Just as in real estate, the key to moving your impulse items is “location, location, location.” Although the checkout counter is the most obvious location and is always a great place to start, the layout of your establishment can also suggest other good areas.
The on-line business blog AllBusiness.com recommends positioning impulse products near related category areas, such as lighter holders near the lighters or candles and air fresheners near the ash trays. Try finding places where customers are not preoccupied with their intended reason for entering the store. Consider areas customers have to pass through while looking for staple items, such as at the ends of aisles or between specific departments.
If space allows and you have the right display vehicles such as wire racks, try strategically placing impulse items to each side of the checkout lane. Surrounding customers with merchandise increases the chances that a product will catch their eye while they are approaching the cash register.
Of course, the available space in your establishment will determine not only where you place impulse items but also the amount of items that you decide to stock. Too many impulse items in your store can be overkill, slowing down your customers as they make their purchases and resulting in dissatisfied patrons. In some stores, it’s better to go with a smaller selection of well-chosen impulse articles. Most retailers find that anything, even candy or breath mints, adds to revenues if positioned correctly in eye-catching displays.
In general, go with impulse items that are straightforward and simple, preferably in attention-grabbing bright colors or designs. (Also, never underestimate the “cute” factor.) Impulse items should not require customers to read long descriptions or select from among a wide range of styles or models. Remember, as well, that impulse items are typically smaller in price, size and weight. Large and/or expensive items are not impulse purchases and should not be marketed and presented as such.
Finally, if you’re having a sale, place impulse items near the sales items. “After all,” says AllBusiness.com, “people are in a good mood after finding a bargain, and they may decide to buy more with the money they’ve saved.”
