Spontaneous Selection

The trickiest part of any conversation about impulse toys when talking to specialty retailers is agreeing upon what an impulse toy actually is. Definitions vary widely from store owner to store owner, but after speaking to several retailers, the general consensus is that they're often small, usually inexpensive—although the definition of inexpensive can branch off into a wide-ranging discussion of its own—and almost always reside near the checkout counter.

And while figuring out what defines an impulse toy can cause some debate, there is consensus about the category in one regard. As Marilyn Walker, owner of PlayFair Toys in Boulder, Colo., says, “Everybody has to have some.”

“[Impulse toys] are little things,” says Walker, amplifying something said by all of the retailers contacted for this story. “It's the bouncy balls, and the little parachute men and all those small wind-ups.” For Walker's store that means playthings under $5 most often sourced from providers like Toysmith, Schylling and PlayVisions.

“We [also] keep little things by the checkout counter,” says Linda Kapnick, president of Ambassador Toys in San Francisco. “We'll put some of the little jewelry items there, even things as silly as mood rings. People will see those and say 'Oh, I remember those!' and then have to have one.”

“When you're talking about impulse toys, you're really talking about little things that people fall in love with and just can't leave the store without getting,” she says. “[Customers] just think of it as something really cute and sweet and fun.”

Currently, Ambassador's impulse section is stocked with items like wind-ups and budget-friendly die-cast cars from companies like California Creations and Toysmith that “kids and adults both seem to like,” Kapnick says, alongside “little nostalgic things” like yo-yos and Slinkies that “do really well when we put them at the counter.”

“Basically, anything we put on the counter becomes an impulse toy and does well,” she says. “It's amazing how that can happen.”

“That happens with these tiny, little plastic cars we have that pull back and go really fast!” says Megan Ticknell, an associate at Thinker Toys in Portland, Ore. “People play with them at the counter and go, 'Oooh, I need one of these!'”

Often times, if a child starts playing with one of her binned check-out toys—a $2.99 car, for example—a parent will say, 'Oh, oh well, I'll buy it,' Kapnick says, “because it's not enough of a purchase to justify starting the tears and the drama of putting the car back.”

That's one of the two most common customer reactions that drives sales of impulse toys, says PlayFair's Walker. “Sometimes it's a child-driven purchase where kids see something and want it, and parents will buy it because it's just a little something—why not?”

The other driver comes from adults who buy something out of nostalgia, or because of a product's novelty, or just because something's tickled their fancy in some way, says Walker. “Sometimes there's just an emotional connection. A lot of times adults will come in and see something and go, 'Oooh, I know this!' or see something that's really fun and splurge on it. The toy will grab them with some kind of emotional connection, and then the thought that 'this is a little bit of money but a lot of fun,' makes it an easy purchase.”

At Walker's store, those products are often the most retro ones, “things that people buy somewhat impulsively because they relate it to their own childhoods,” she says, products like Scylling's Magnetic Gyro Wheel.

“Mr. Potato Head is the same way,” says Kapnick. “People still love him and when they seem him, they buy him just because.”

And that's where talk of impulse toys invariably turns to talk of toys purchased impulsively.

“Good old Thomas [the Tank Engine] is an impulse toy for us,” says Kapnick. “Those individual trains are impulse toys for 3- or 4-year-olds, both boys and girls. At that age, if they see James or someone else that they recognize from the show, they have to have it. And those [single train cars] are priced so that I think parents think they're an impulse toy. They're not terribly expensive—you can buy most of them for $10, which might be a significant purchase for some people, but for a lot of them it's not much for that type of item. I think that's why that line has done so well. Adults can come in and buy one train piece a couple times a year and make their child happy without spending much at all. Of course, the track pieces and the station sets are a whole different ball game,” she says and laughs.

Kapnick also finds that “plush really is an impulse buy. They didn't walk in looking to specifically buy plush but they see something cute and walk out with it. I'm always wondering why we buy so much plush—it's because it sells and people fall in love with it and can't leave the store without it!” For her store, it's usually “basic, $10-$15 plush that's well made and really sweet” that attracts impulse purchases the most.

At PlayFair, Hog Wild, Portland, Ore., is “high-end impulse,” according to Walker. “I mean, who comes in to buy a faucet light for $25 dollars or an electronic ice cream cone? But, people do. Those are also kind of impulse toys, if you ask me, because people do not come looking for them, but they have fun with them when they see them. The staff here gets into those and always tells people about them.”

Also popular, says Kapnick, are inexpensive books like Dover Publishing's Little Activity Books or Frank Schaffer Publications' Homework Helpers series.

“We tend to sell a lot of Dover's little $1.50 books,” Kapnick says. “They're definitely impulse items; people will buy 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 of them, literally handfuls of them, because they're only $1.50. I always recommend them for kids traveling. We've been selling those for 10 years and they just sell and sell and sell.”

Schaffer's Homework Helper series sells, Kapnick adds, because they're “really colorful and shiny and are only $2.49 or so retail. That was a line that redid itself a few years ago and ever since then it's been a very nice item in our store.”

With their low prices, impulse toys are a beneficial addition to a store's merchandise mix, specialty retailers say. There's usually “a pretty high mark up,” says Walker. “They're definitely more expensive to stock but there's a trade off because you're also getting more than 100 percent mark up on it.” She says the added expense comes from the extra effort the category requires. “They're high maintenance,” Walker explains. “You have to count every single one of them—you're going to put a lot more energy into that than you would for a less than 100 percent mark up on a toy you're making $30 in profit from. That's one of the reasons that most stores justify the higher markup on them. But as long as you keep the price reasonable, it's still easy for shoppers to take.”

Choosing which impulse toys to carry from so many potential items—for many manufacturers, pages and pages of them—can be a hit or miss affair, retailers say. And while per-unit prices on most impulse toys are low, they say that shouldn't be a reason to order items on a whim.

“Generally, I try not to over think things and just go with my gut,” advises Kapnick. “But I always order minimum case packs to try things out so to not over-order. Just because I think something's great doesn't always mean everyone else does.”

“Go into other stores to see what you like,” adds Walker. “Notice what catches your eye and how are they merchandising it that made it catch your eye.”

And take the advice of reps, she adds. “Listen to your reps about what's selling and what's not and ask them how to pick a good mix to start with. When I listen to [my reps] I do well. Be a little conservative at first, but if something looks fun to you, you can probably sell it.” 