Relative Importance of Impulse-Buying in Retail Stores

Author(s): Vernon T. Clover

Source: Journal of Marketing, Vol. 15, No. 1 (Jul., 1950), pp. 66-70
Published by: American Marketing Association
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1247083 .
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THE yOURNAL OF MzRKETING

AKTN

66 66TEJUNLO
l

Degree z

Northernhalf of Minnesota
Easternhalf of North Dakota
Northernthree-fourthsof Wisconsin
Peninsulaof Michigan
Degree2

Southernhalf of Minnesota
Westernhalf of North Dakota
Northeast and southeast corners of
SouthDakota
Degree3

Northwestcornerof South Dakota

Northernone-thirdof Iowa
Easternthree-fourthsof Montana
In conclusion, it may be said that
Duluth wholesaling of clothing and notions could readily be expanded with the
advent of the St. Lawrence Waterway

to a greater intensity in the areas now

covered and to new areas. Two factors
might make that possible: (I) reduced
cost of transportation, which does not

seem to be as important in the case of

clothing and notions as in other fields,
and (2) the addition of unique or low-

priced foreign merchandiseto present

lines of merchandise.
It may be said, further,that this case
illustratesthe fact that while "natural"
factors,such as location and transportation cost, tend to determine market
areas, the forces of differentiation,such
as personal service, still make possible
profitable operation in areas normally
covered by other market centers.
RICHARD0. SIELAFF

Universityof Minnesota
Duluth,Minnesota

RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF IMPULSE-BUYING

IN RETAIL STORES
merchants know that a certain percentage of their sales are
made to customers who buy in response
to a sudden impulse. It is also a generally
accepted opinion that some types of
items are more subject to impulse-sales
than is the case for other types. An opportunity to gain some insight into these
matters was afforded when on two occasions in January and February of I948
a shortage of gas in three west Texas
towns resulted in an almost universal
closing of business establishments for
the entire business day. The closings
were unannounced ahead of the actual
so-called "gas holidays." The public
was informed over the local radio stations that the mayors of the three affected towns had asked all stores to close
for that day. The stores observed the
closings almost Ioo per cent. The condiETAIL

tions surroundingthese two holidaysafforded a unique opportunity to study

the effect upon the volume of retail
sales in the areas affected.
The main type of data sought in the
study was informationon whethersales
lost during the weeks in which the oneday closings occurredwere made up in
the followingweek. An assumptionwas
made that the more importantthat impulse purchaseswereto a given store the
less likely it would be to make up its
sales the week following. The closings
occurredtwo weeks apart, and therefore
there was one full week between them
during which sales had an opportunity
to build back up to offset the holiday
losses. During the five week period
covered in this study the weather was
rather uniformlycold and disagreeable.
One hundred and fifty four retail

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67

J THE YOURNALOF
- ---- MARKETING
--

---

-----

-- - -- -

storeswereincludedin this survey.They figuresfor the weekly gross sales of the

represented19 types of stores, although establishmentsfor the five week period
only I2 types were represented by five which started one week before the
or more stores. The breakdown by types week containingthe firstone-dayclosing
is shown for the town of Lubbock only. and extended to the week followingthe
(See Table I.) It is by far the largest of week containingthe secondholiday.The
the three towns covered, with a popula- managers were also asked these two
tion of about 65,00o. The other two questions:
towns have populations between Io,ooo
I. "Doyoubelievethatyourtotalannual
to 20,000.
saleswouldbe less if all storesselling
The cooperating store managers were
the sameproductsor servicesthat you
sell wouldagreeto remainopenonly
asked to supply the interviewers with
TABLE

I. MANAGERS' ESTIMATES OF IMPULSE-SALES; AND ACTUAL EFFECT UPON VOLUME OF SALES

OF TWO UNEXPECTED ONE-DAY CLOSINGS OF 154 RETAIL STORES

Data on Fluctuations in Sales Cover a Five Week Period

Per centof Deviationin Sales*from
Would40 hr.
Mgrs.'Est.
rstWeek,i.e., the Base Weekt
weekdecrease
No f of Per cent
No. of
sales?
ImpulseStore
Type
of
Type
Store s ployes Salesareof
4th Week
2ndWeek
ployees TotalSales
t
rd Week Closed
Closed 3th
Week
Don't
day
(Averages)* Yes No Know Week I day

Se
Key
Foot
t
no

LUBBOCK

Variety
Grocery
Service Station
Book
Department
Men's Clothes
Gift
Ladies Wear
Barber Shop
Jewelry
Beauty Shop
Theater (Movie)
Florist
Hardware
Sport Goods
Furniture
Auto Supply
Lumber
Paint & Paper
Total or Average
PLAINVIEW
LEVELLAND

I71

60.48

0.0

-16.54

+ 0.64

26
13
6
5
4
4
15
5
5
5
o0
I
5
I
5
4
I
I

26.02
14.80
14.66

-I5.91

350
77

20

0.0

-I5.45

o.o
0.0

I4.54

2
2

-I3.81
-31.84

- 0.05
- 4.38
+ 2.32

-I0.36

o0.0

-25.24

+19.99

13.68

4
0
3
o

I3.21

3
3
3
I
3

0
o
o
0
0

0.0
0.0

0.0

I
3
I
4
3

0.0

2
0
I

0
0
0

0.0

+45.84
+ 7.86
-27.86
- 7.72
-11.29
+ 3.08
- 8.36
0.00
4.79
-36.00

-I2.5I
-35-43
+98.21
-27.72

No. Ans.

0
I

0
0

o
I

123

1372

20.83

78

18

198

3I.I5

io

22

203
33
7
I03

i8
62
I8
91
4
62
4
31
97
8
Ii

I2.33

I2

I2.26

11.81
11.31
Io.I2

10.00
10.00
I0.00

3.8I
3.51
2.00

4
2
10

4.27

I S

+ 2.93

-2I.42

1.87

IS

1.36

5.85

0.52

3 59

I S

II

0.0

-17.82

0.98

0.0

-I9.89

68

17.72

Io

0.0

154

1638

21.80

98

43

13

0.0

-I7.70

9.09

4.18

34

13

I M

-I3.41

0.0
0.0

o.o
o.o
o.o

6.85

-70.00

0.0o

o.o

I W
I W
I S
PS
?
?
I W
I W
?
PW
?
?
?
?
?
I W
I M
?

+ 0.8I
-I2.86
-45.71
- 9.62
5.09
-I5.30
-20.27
-34.00
-9.89
-67.00
-28.86
- 6.28
-20.00
-34.00

o.o
o.o

- 7.91

-I2.70
-20.23

-14.20

-I6.2I
- 8.80
-I7.24
+77.00
+ 0-57
-26.00

-20.51

-29.14

- 2.31
+i6.00
-65.00

-I6.59
-30.00
-66.00

2.94

7.3I

+21.49
-39.19
+30.93

- 6.44
- 0.35
-25.62
+10.22
-26.10
+26.00
+ 4.68
+55.00
-32.99
+ 0.37
0.00

GrandTotal or
Average

-13.95

Source: Personal Interviews with managers of 154 retail establishments in Lubbock, Plainview & Levelland, Texas.
*
Weighted by number of employees in each store. Weighting by this method instead of by gross sales was necessary because
some stores furnished percentage figures only.
t Base week was the week before the week containing the first one day closing of the stores.
: "I" means pattern of fluctuation that indicates definite presence of relatively large amount of impulse-sales (purchases).
"P" means pattern is that for planned-sales (purchases). "S" means the pattern is strong. "W" means the pattern is weak.
"M" means the pattern is neither particularly strong nor weak. "?" denotes indefiniteness of pattern.

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68

2.

THE JOURNAL
OF MARKETING
THE
M,4RKETING
YOURNAL OF

forty hoursperweek?"
"About what percentageof your total
sales do you estimate are made to customers who decide to buy on the spur
of the moment?"

The findings are summarized in the

accompanying table.
OPINIONSOF MANAGERS

Ninety-eight, or approximately two

thirds of the I54 managers interviewed,

in answering

question

"I" estimated

that the reduced forty hour week would

decrease their sales. A little over a
fourth (28 per cent) did not believe that
the forty hour week would reduce sales.
The remaining 8 per cent said they did
not know. The reason for asking this
question is the assumption that impulsesales are more affected than plannedsales by length of store hours. If a
manager expected shorter hours would
decrease sales then, according to this
assumption, the manager should also
indicate that a relatively high percentage
of his sales are due to impulse-buying.
That some managers did not recognize
or agree with this assumption is evident
in the answers which they gave to
question "2" above. In studying the
answers shown in the table it can be seen
that none of the seven variety store
managers thought that shorter hours
would reduce sales in their stores. Yet
their average estimate of the percentage
of impulse-sales to total sales was 60.48
per cent, the highest for any of the types
of stores. For all managers, the average
of the estimates of the percentage of
their sales that were due to impulse-

buying was 21.8 per cent.

A breakdown by type of store is shown

for the 123 stores studied in Lubbock.
Here it can be seen, for example, that all
ten of the managers of the theaters
covered thought that the shorter week

would cause a decline in sales. The

managersalso estimated that about io
per cent of theirpatronscamein because
of a sudden impulse to see a movie. Of
the 26 grocerystores, 20, or 77 per cent,
thought sales would be reduced by a
shorter forty hour week. As to the relative importanceof impulse-saleswe find
that the highest percentage, 60.48 per
cent, is found for the seven variety
stores, and the lowest, among the types
representedby five or morestores,is 3.8I
per cent for the five furniture stores.
The 26 grocerystores also rankedas the
second highest type in impulse-sales,
with their managers giving estimates
that averaged26.02 per cent.
It is hardly necessary to point out
that the opinions obtained from the
store managers covered in this survey
when brokendown into types of stores
have quite limited significancebecause
of the very small number of stores included in most of the types. Nevertheless, the breakdownby types is given for
whatever significanceit may have for
the comparisons that may be made
amongthe differenttypes of stores. It is
possible that for most of the types that
are representedby five or more stores
the representationis large enough to
make the stated opinionsworthsome attention.
The results by types of stores in regard to changesin actual sales over the
five week period as reported by the
managersare consideredto carry more
significancethan the data on opinions.
The reasons for this are that the sales
figuresare real, measurableresults, and
for many of the types of stores covered
relatively large establishmentswere included. The five department stores
studied had a total of 203 employees.
The seven variety stores employed 171
persons.

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THE YOURNALOF MARKETING

69
III

DATA OF ACTUALSALES FLUCTUATIONS that

but two of the I9 types of stores

showed
definite patterns of sales-fluctuData on the fluctuationsin total sales
ations
that
indicated planned buying
in all the 154 stores surveyed show that
was
important enough to pull sales in
in the week with the first one-day
both
post-holiday weeks appreciably
sales
declined
cent
from
closing,
I7.7 per
the previous week, or the base week as it above the level of the base week. These
is called in this study. In the week follow- two types were department stores and
ing the first closing, sales bounced up- beauty shops.

ward to a level but 0.52 per cent below

the base week. Then in the following
week with the second one-day closing,
sales declined again, this time by I3.95
per cent compared to the base week.
The succeeding week sales rose again to
a level only 3.59 per cent below the base
week. This pattern of sales fluctuations
over the five week period covered indicated that impulse buying, and perhaps length of store hours, definitely
were important factors. Sales declined
in the weeks with the closings and increased again the following week. The
significant point in these figures, in regard to the measurement of the importance of impulse buying, is found in
the fact that the total sales for all of the
I54 stores, and for most of the subtypes, in the weeks following each closing
did not increase enough to offset the
losses during the holiday weeks. Instead,
in the case of the total for all 154 stores
the sales of the post-holiday weeks
merely increased by enough to bring
sales almost up to their level in the base
week, that is the week before the first
closing. In other words, existence of
impulse sales is indicated by the fact
that customers did not buy enough
merchandise in the week following each
holiday to make up for the purchases
that they apparently would have made
if the stores had not closed. There are
variations, of course, in the relative importance of impulse sales among the
various types of stores, as can be seen
in the table. It is interesting to notice

THEORETICAL ASSUMPTIONS OF
THIS STUDY

Accordingto the theory put forth in

this article, in a given store with Ioo
per cent of its sales due to impulsebuying, the pattern of fluctuationin sales,
assumingno change in trend of volume,
would be such that all sales that could
not be made due to the one-day closings would be lost forever. The decrease in sales during the week of the
holiday would not be made up in the
followingweek. Sales in that post-holiday week would merely return to the
level of the base week.
In studying the patternsfor the types
of stores shown in the table, the impulse patternsare markedwith an I and
the planned patterns with a P. If the
patternwas considereddefiniteor strong,
then the letter S follows; if the pattern
was considered weak the letter W is
added; if medium in definiteness, the
letter M is used. A question mark, ?,
is placed after each type of store in
which no definite pattern was discernible.
If these fluctuationsare plotted on a
graph, the sales fluctuationin types of
stores whereimpulsesales are relatively
important will form a letter "W." The
three top parts of the letter will be on
the same level as the sales of the base
week beforethe holiday weeks. The two
holiday weeks are represented by the
two bottom dips in the "W." The
deeper the dips the more importantare

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THE 7OURNAL OF MARKETING

70

the impulse sales. If planned sales predominate, the shape of the "W" is
changed, and the second and third tops
of the letter will be higher than the
first top.
In attemptingto discoverthe relative
importanceof impulse buying for each
type of store, the percentage fluctuations in sales wereobserved,and also the
shape of the sales curves, when plotted
on graphs.The resultscan be seen in the
last column in the table. For the total
of all of the 154 stores a definite impulsepattern is discernible. The same is true
for the I23 stores in Lubbock and the
I8 in Plainview. As for the various types
of stores, a strong impulse-pattern is
shown for the six book stores. Their
gift items and knickknacks must account
for a large part of this, although books
themselves may be subject to much
impulse buying. In contrast, a strong
pattern of planned buying is clearly
evident for the five department stores.
This is not surprising for such shoppinggoods stores. The only other type of
store which showed a planned-buying
pattern was beauty shops.
CONCLUSIONS

The fluctuations in sales shown for the

grand total of all the 154 stores do follow
a pattern that indicates that impulse
buying definitely influences sales. If we

were to assume a trend line showing a

slight decline in sales, such as might be
established by the post-holiday week
figures of -0.52

per cent and -3.59

per

cent of the base week, we might make the

tentative statement that lost sales
seemed to constitute somewhere between
o1 per cent and 17 per cent of total
sales in the retail stores covered in this
survey. These percentages are obtained
by taking the differences shown between
-I7.70 per cent and -0.52 per cent,
which equals 17.18 per cent; and -I3.95

per cent and -3.59 per cent, which equals

IO.36 per cent.

When it is recalled that the stores

were closed approximately 16 per cent of
the usual business day time during the
holiday weeks, the 10 per cent to I7 per

cent figures for lost sales strikingly point

to the great importance of impulse sales
and length of store hours. It is possible
of course, that some of the lost sales
that were not made up in the immediate
post-holiday week were made up at later
dates. The findings of this study, nevertheless, seem to indicate the great importance of impulse buying, and the advisability of a retailer following a policy
of making it as easy as possible for consumers to make purchases.
VERNONT. CLOVER

Texas TechnologicalCollege
Lubbock,Texas

PATTERN OF BUYING FARM EQUIPMENT AND SUPPLIES*

T HIS report is a summary of the per cent of the areaof the county was in
findingsof a study madeon the buy- farms comparedwith a state averageof
ing habits and practices of farmers of 86 per cent; 81 per cent of the farmsare
Parke County, Indiana, when purchas- operatedby ownersor part ownerscoming farm equipmentand supplies.Parke pared with 77 per cent in the State; 56
County was selected as a typical Indi- per cent of the farm incomecomes from
ana farming county. For example, 84 livestock comparedwith 57 per cent for
*
the State; the average value of farms
University of Illinois study made under supervision
of Professors P. D. Converse and C. H. Sandage.
of more than 30 acres in Parke County

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