EXCLUSIVE: Here’s what drives impulse online purchases
A new survey reveals the tactics, products, platforms and times of day that help trigger online shoppers to buy products without planning.
One-in-seven (14%) surveyed consumers have made an online purchase within one minute of seeing an online ad, based on the results of a survey of roughly 800 U.S. consumers and 200 U.S. e-commerce businesses conducted by secure web hosting provider Liquid Web that were exclusively released to Chain Store Age reveals that
Triggers like flash sales and countdown timers played a major role, with 70% of these impulse buyers citing urgency-based tactics as the main reason they clicked “buy.” Gen X respondents were most likely to make an impulse purchase (17%), followed by millennials (14%) and Gen Z (11%) respondents.
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The most common impulse purchases were clothing (43%), food and drink (41%), and electronics (41%). Gen Z respondents gravitated most toward food and drink (67%), while millennials favored clothing (47%) and Gen X respondents most often purchased home goods (45%).
Overall, Amazon was far and away the online platform most likely to trigger a near-instant purchase (74% of respondents who have made an impulse purchase following an ad), with YouTube (29%) and Facebook (27%) distantly behind.
However, social media platforms were far more likely to serve as purchase triggers for Gen Z respondents who have made an impulse purchase following ad ad. Gen Z respondents led all generations in fast purchases on YouTube (47%), Instagram (40%), Reddit (33%), and TikTok (27%).
Other consumer findings include:
- 85% have regretted making an impulse online purchase. Gen Z was the most likely to say so (89%).
- 42% said they’re most likely to buy impulsively between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m., especially on Fridays (36%) and Saturdays (28%).
- 20% have spent more than $200 on a fast impulse purchase.
E-commerce findings
Nine-in-10 surveyed e-commerce businesses have implemented fast checkout. After implementing fast checkout, 53% of these respondents saw higher average order values, and 46% reported improved conversion rates, with an average increase of 33%.
Seven-in-10 (71%) e-commerce respondents who have implemented fast checkout said customer retention improved after adding fast checkout options. Shopify was the most used platform (62%), followed by Squarespace (41%), and then Wix, WooCommerce, and BigCommerce tied next at 21% each.
Integration bugs (43%) were the most common checkout issue, followed by customer confusion (38%), platform limitations (28%), and a lack of developer support (22%). Overall, 26% of e-commerce respondents who have implemented fast checkout said their platform handled advanced checkout functionality very well.
"The data shows fast checkout isn’t just a convenience, it’s a catalyst for growth," said Kyleigh Fitzgerald, director of product marketing at Liquid Web. "This highlights a larger shift in consumer psychology. The future of ecommerce isn’t just fast—it’s instantaneous."
See more Liquid Web survey findings.
