Behaviors

• Customers tend to be more likely to make an impulse buy on an unplanned shopping trip, with 23% of them stating that they are more likely to in this circumstance.
•  8 out of 10 impulse purchases are made in brick and mortar stores.
• Single shoppers are more likely to make impulse buys than married shoppers at 45%.
• On average, a customer makes 3 impulse, or unplanned, purchases in 4 out of every 10 store visits they take.
• Millennials are the generation that is the most likely to make impulse purchases, being 52% more likely to.
• The state of mind that men are in most often when making an impulse buy is excited (47%), followed by bored (28%), sad (14%), intoxicated (13%), and angry (8%).
• Women are also more likely to make impulse purchases when excited (50%), followed by bored (32%), sad (28%), angry (10%), and intoxicated (5%).
•  85% of shoppers have also claimed that their impulse purchases were due in part to taking advantage of a deal/discount.
•  40% of consumers claimed to go out and make a purchase based on the fact that they were sent a coupon in the mail, and 33% because they were sent a coupon to their email.
•  54% of impulse purchases tend to be for oneself.

Types of Impulse Buying

• The eight types of impulse buying include: reminded, suggested, motivational, savings, complementary, fear of missing out, shopping enthusiasts, and decision fatigue.
• Reminded impulse purchases refer to purchases that are made when the shopper is reminded of something they need while they are actively shopping. For example, a customer may purchase batteries after seeing them at the counter because it reminded them that their remote batteries were dead.
• Suggested impulse purchases refer to purchases that are made when an item is suggested to the shopper whether by an employee or sales person.
• Motivational impulse purchases refer to a purchase that is made when a shopper is motivated to buy something specifically. For example, a shopper craving a certain type of food goes and purchases that food.

Satisfaction Rates/Return Rates

•  46% of men say they regret their impulse purchases.
• Women, on the other hand, are more likely to regret these purchases, with 52% saying they regret them.
•  75% of U.S. shoppers have admitted to impulse shopping. Roughly 50% of them also admit that they suffer from "buyer's remorse" afterwards.

Most Common Items

• The top five most common impulse buys involve: food/groceries (71%), clothing (53%), household items (33%), takeout (29%), and shoes (28%)
•  Three in four American shoppers have also claimed to purchase candy at the checkout counter.
•  32% of shoppers also admit to impulsively purchase food after passing a specific restaurant.