According to research by Mintel, the category of frozen foodstuffs is among the main impulse purchases in retail outlets, together with snacks and energy drinks.
“While shoppers’ planned purchases typically revolve around essentials like food, certain food categories are huge impulsive-buy drivers. Frozen foods, snacks and energy drinks are top impulse buys in the food realm,” Mintel says.
In addition to knowing which categories inspire impulse buys, it’s equally critical for retailers and manufacturers to understand the dollar impact those purchases can have on the bottom line. In fact, in the Mintel ranking by impulse dollar potential, frozen food entrees register 34%, meaning there is a very high impulse purchase potential for this category. Similar situations account for frozen snacks, with an impulse dollar potential of 37%, frozen meat with 26%, frozen pizza with 28%.
“While there’s no denying the importance of a shopping list that details the “must buys,” in-store reminders are a perfect way for retailers and manufacturers to highlight products that may not have made shoppers’ lists but perhaps should have. These in-store reminders represent a good way to imply existing needs that may not be top-of-mind for consumers,” Mintel says.
More information on this research can be found here.
