Impulse Goods - Definition & Example

Published in Marketing and Strategy Terms by MBA Skool Team

What is Impulse Goods?

Impulse goods are those products or goods which are bought by a customers on impulse or without significant thought process as opposed to staple or essential goods. Impulse goods are those which entice or tempt a customer instantly and the customer simply goes ahead and purchases the product without any research or without thinking.


Impulse goods are bought instantaneously and are not planned. These impulses are governed by our emotions and psychology. Food and Retail segments are more prone to impulse goods and purchases. This type of a buying referred to as impulse buying.


Impulse products category is targeted at stimulating the human sense/need of self-satisfaction and thus generates a desired action as a result of matching the product. Many a times these purchases are not entirely rational in nature. Impulse goods are categorized within convenience goods, along with staple goods and emergency goods. All these products are collectively available mostly at a convenience store.


Examples of Impulse Goods

Impulse goods are primarily purchased based on certain emotions and psychological factors. The human sensory organs often are responsible for an impulse purchase. Some examples are mentioned below:

1. Taste: Chocolate (Placed near cash counter)

2. Smell: Perfumes (Displayed behind the cash counter)

3. Sound: Music(Club music)

4. Sight: Decorative items (An female model on the cover of a magazine)

5. Feel: luxury clothing, experiences like hotel suites.


Sometimes customers buy products impulsively because of their placement in a store. This is also referred as impulse intercept merchandise, i.e. those goods or merchandise which intercepts a customer and he/she eventually buys it.

Hence, this concludes the definition of Impulse Goods along with its overview.

This article has been researched & authored by the Business Concepts Team. It has been reviewed & published by the MBA Skool Team. The content on MBA Skool has been created for educational & academic purpose only.

Browse the definition and meaning of more similar terms. The Management Dictionary covers over 1800 business concepts from 5 categories.

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