Maintain Purchase Momentum in Customers

Consumer psychologists talk of a “flow state” in which a customer who makes a purchase becomes more likely to make another purchase and then another. Consider what happened in a study conducted by researchers at Yale University, Duke University, and Carnegie Mellon University:
     Some study participants were invited to buy a CD that had been previously judged as appealing to people like the participants. The rest of the participants were invited, instead, to buy a light bulb. Yes, the butt of so many “how many does it take” jokes.” A lowly light bulb. As you might expect, a higher percentage of the CD group than the light bulb group decided to make the purchase.
     Next, all participants—regardless of what they’d been offered before and whether they made a purchase—were invited to buy a keychain. Shopping momentum evidenced itself. A higher percentage from the CD group than from the light bulb group decided to buy the keychain, and those in the light bulb group who did make the purchase were more likely to buy the key chain than those who turned down the light bulb offer.
     Don’t exploit purchase momentum—such as in children or people with a compulsive buying disorder. But allow customers to both build your profitability and build their enjoyment from shopping with you by maintaining purchase momentum.

• Start your shoppers saying yes. Begin with purchases the shopper is most likely to agree to. Even nodding yes builds momentum. University of Amsterdam researchers found that people who were induced to nod their heads up and down would then think more positively about purchase alternatives than those who had not done the pre-evaluation nodding.
• Give customers a head start. Researchers at University of Southern California and University of Pennsylvania set up an experimental loyalty card program at a car wash: Each customer could receive a free car wash after paying for eight. However, some customers were give a head start of two washes and had to get a total of ten. Those given the head start were much more likely to purchase the eight additional washes and to come to the car wash more frequently.

Click below for more:
Compulsive Buying Disorder. Okay, Laugh
Start Your Shoppers Feeling Yes
Give Loyalty Program Head Starts