The Campbell Soup Company, the food and snacks manufacturer, is seeking to understand how consumers can be encouraged to make impulse purchases in the e-commerce space.

Mark Clouse, the Camden, New Jersey-based enterprise’s president/CEO, discussed this subject on a quarterly conference call with investors.

“I think when you’re talking about impulse purchases, that’s an area where we really are trying to work hard to learn a bit about how do you create that impulse environment in an online world,” he said.

“And that is not as simple as just being available or being at the top of the page. You’ve got to create a little bit more of a unique dynamic.” (For more details, read WARC’s report: How the Campbell Soup Co is adapting to the demands of e-commerce).

The importance of addressing this issue reflects a point of difference between the bricks-and-mortar experience and digital retail platforms.

A major part of the experience of in-store grocery shopping is being tempted by a tasty item while browsing the aisles for potential purchases.

Replicating that behaviour in the search-driven online commerce arena – where functionality often trumps spontaneous modes of engagement – is a difficult proposition that most brands have not resolved.

In response, Campbell’s will implement test initiatives as it aims to determine the precise experiences that can encourage consumers to make unplanned purchases as they are utilising e-commerce sites.

“One of the other areas that we’re investing in [for] the third quarter and into the fourth quarter is really trying to test and learn in that space, because we do expect that [to be important] as consumers become more comfortable utilising these tools,” Clouse said.

The significance of this task is growing, not least because the Campbell Soup Co. believes the spike in e-commerce usage prompted by COVID-19 will endure for the long term.

“We expect consumer online activities – both in terms of home delivery and click-and-collect – to accelerate,” said Clouse. “We believe the platforms and the convenience they provide will result in continued usage going forward.”

Sourced from WARC