Amazon makes impulse shopping easy.
It allows you to buy anything with the click of a button, from the convenience of your own home. Choose prime delivery at checkout and the package will arrive at your doorstep the next day.
Amazon has mastered the art of the impulse buy because it understands that humans are wired for convenience. It knows that people make unplanned purchases if they can buy quickly and with little thought.
Convenience, however, is not the only trick that Amazon uses. Here are 3 more ways that the United States eCommerce giant is making you spend money, even if you did not plan to do so in advance.
1. Recommended Products Lead to Impulse Shopping
Having a choice is a basic human need. With choice comes a feeling of control.
When we compare options on Amazon’s catalogue, we feel a sense of autonomy and freedom. It makes us think that we oversee the customer journey.
While it’s good to be in control, too much choice leads to choice overload.1 Having too many alternatives can lead to overwhelm, and in abandoning the cart without making a purchase.
Amazon is well aware of this. It knows that when we face a vast range of purchasing options, none of which are targeted towards specific interests, the sale will probably not happen.
It is for that reason that it displays product recommendations. If it can display the correct item at the right time—while giving the buyer a sense of autonomy and freedom—impulse purchases are more likely to take place.
2. Amazon’s Data Collection Process
It does not come as a surprise that Amazon collects customer information. But did you know that the company gathers data points on every order?
It saves user’s behavior and tracks interactions with website elements, such as the cart or search function. This collection process allows the algorithm to fine-tune its product recommendations.
When Amazon successfully appeals to customers with personalized picks, it gives them the perception that it is a place where they can buy anything. No need to delay the gratification and go to retail stores when you can order anything from your phone or laptop within a few minutes.
Data also allows Amazon to follow users on social media to display hyper-targeted advertisements. The more it can remind the occasional impulse shopper to buy, the higher the likelihood they catch them at the right time.
3. The 1-Click Impulse Shopping Button
Amazon’s Buy Now button enables customers to purchase an item with one click. It works by saving payment and shipping information on previous purchases, which then lets users place an order without adding the product to their shopping cart the next time around.
Online shoppers do not need to think over it, sleep on it or research it—the impulse buy can happen with the touch of a button.
The 1-click feature allows Amazon to capitalize on people’s emotions. When someone looks at a store item that makes them say, “I could really use this”, “They offer free shipping”, or “That’s a great deal ”, the user’s emotional mind is engaged.
When our desires are activated and we believe a product or service would satisfy a need, the purchase can happen quickly. That’s what the Buy Now button is all about.
Our Instant Gratification Society
As a species, we have grown custom to instant gratification: food delivery, on-demand TV, one-stop checkouts—you name it. When we want something, we want it now.
In a world where we expect everything at an instant, online retailers like Amazon are thriving. We can order any product within seconds and have it arrive at our doorstep the next day.
Whether you consider Amazon’s techniques to be righteous depends on your perspective. What is your definition of success?
Customers who have financial goals and cannot afford to fall victim to impulsive buying might want to save their money for more meaningful things. Merchants who sell their products on the platform, on the other hand, gladly accept high conversion rates.