CHICAGO – The retail landscape continues to change and the places where people make purchases are more varied than ever before. Wrigley and Mars Chocolate are bringing their decades of impulse leadership and new global shopper insights to partner with retailers to implement forward-thinking merchandising recommendations, improve the shopping experience and drive growth.

Shoppers purchase goods and services at “transaction zones.” The front end remains critical and the largest impulse area of the store, but shoppers are also checking out via other transaction zones, including the pharmacy, café, on their mobile phones and via “buy online, pick-up in store” models. As shopping continues to evolve, retailers and manufacturers must increase conversion of impulse items across all transaction zones, regardless of channel.

“It’s no secret that people don’t shop like they used to, and the traditional mix of impulse items in transaction zones needs to better meet consumer needs,” said Kurt Laufer, vice president of U.S. sales for Wrigley, in a press release. “By tapping into our deep understanding of the shopper and taking a hard look at what items are performing and why, we believe our strategies can help our retail partners capture valuable impulse sales.”

To assist in this optimization, Wrigley and Mars Chocolate have conducted extensive global research into the emotional journey people make during their shopping experience and have identified a consistent element: Checkout is the emotional low point of the shopping journey, no matter where or how you pay. Retailers can help shoppers overcome this low point and capture more impulse purchases by merchandising to better satisfy three key shopper mindsets or need states:

• Refresh: Shopping can be stressful and tiring, so shoppers look to refresh or recharge themselves once the job is done. Items fulfilling the refresh need state, like gum, mints, beverages and snacks, should occupy 51% of total space.
• Reward: Shoppers often seek a treat or reward, like chocolate and non-chocolate candy, after the “chore” of shopping. Items fulfilling the reward need state should occupy 39% of total space.
• Remind: It is helpful for shoppers to find items they forgot to add to their lists, like batteries and lip balm, in the transaction zone. Items fulfilling the remind need should occupy about 10% of total space.

These guidelines are based on national averages across channels, and Wrigley and Mars Chocolate are working with retailers on customized solutions. “We’ve found that satisfying these three distinct shopper mindsets is key to promoting conversion for categories like chocolate, gum, mints and candy,” said Tim LeBel, vice president of sales for Mars Chocolate North America. “Mars Chocolate and Wrigley are working with retailers across channels to ensure current and future check out choices satisfy their shoppers’ needs during checkout and drive impulse purchases.”