Impulse purchase, also known as impulse buying, is a sudden decision to buy a product. All forms of purchases that we not a part of the planned grocery or any list, are called Impulse purchases.
For example, a mother and her 5 years old kid went out to a supermarket and the mother had a list of what she wanted to buy. But on getting there, she just decided to buy a chocolate for her kid, lovely mother. That’s an example of impulse purchase.
Impulse purchases are usually seen in such categories like Snacks or confectioneries, or even in non-food smaller value items, like condoms, battery, shaving blades, chewing gums etc. With that in mind, it becomes very important for brands to place their products at a very visible position.
For example, you would see a lot of small candies, lighters, key chains and chips packets displayed at the cash counter in supermarkets. Brands usually pay for such spaces, as customers are likely to be reminded of the products just as they are checking out, and might end up buying the products on an impulse, just while they are paying.