Amazon add-on initiative targets impulse purchases

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Amazon has introduced a new programme to encourage US customers to add impulse purchases to their online cart.

Amazon will offer its US customers thousands of ‘add-on’ low-priced items

The new ‘add-on’ initiative allows Amazon to offer thousands of low-priced items that it says would be cost-prohibitive to ship on their own.

This means customers may now select small items such as a single jar of jam or a pack of cards, which were previously offered only in multipack sizes, provided the total order value reaches $25 (£15.56) or more. Add-on items can be used to make up a total of $25 together with any other items shipped by Amazon. They can be included as part of Amazon’s free shipping deal or its two-day shipping offer for Amazon Prime customers.

Over the past few years, most people have got used to shopping online, with many buying everything from groceries to music on the internet. Is it any surprise that they often end up shopping by impulse?

It is hard to say how many impulse purchases have been undermined in the past purely because consumers were too annoyed by the need to fill in details at the website to complete purchases for low-priced products. With this initiative the retailer hopes to encourage this group, which was previously either turned away or had to wait until they were ready to club their small purchases together. Amazon is also finding ways to deliver smaller items to consumers without losing money on logistics costs including delivery fees.

The move gives Amazon the opportunity to expand sales, particularly in the grocery category, where it had until now been shipping mainly bulk-buy items in larger pack sizes.

It is also worth noting that the programme is available only for Amazon’s US customers.

The initiative may not work exactly like impulse buying at a brick-and-mortar store but there’s nothing to stop the internet retailer trying out a potentially lucrative way to grab a small market share from other grocery and health and beauty retailers.

This is not the first time Amazon has launched a programme to make the shopping experience more convenient. Last year it began a pilot initiative to test collection lockers in its US and UK markets, with the aim of giving customers a convenient, alternative method of collecting their orders.