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Relative Importance of Impulse-Buying in Retail StoresAuthor(s): Vernon T. CloverSource: Journal of Marketing, Vol. 15, No. 1 (Jul., 1950), pp. 66-70Published by: American Marketing AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1247083.

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2/6

66TEJUNLO

AKTN

6TEJUNLO

AKTN

Degree

z

Northern

half of

Minnesota

Easternhalf

of North

Dakota

Northern hree-fourths fWisconsin

Peninsula

of

Michigan

Degree

2

Southern

half of

Minnesota

Western

half of North

Dakota

Northeast

and

southeast corners

of

South

Dakota

Degree3

Northwestcorner

of

South

Dakota

Northernone-thirdof Iowa

Eastern

hree-fourths

f

Montana

In

conclusion,

it

may

be

said that

Duluth

wholesaling

of

clothing

and no-

tions

could

readily

be

expanded

with

the

advent

of

the

St.

Lawrence

Waterway

Degree

z

Northern

half of

Minnesota

Easternhalf

of North

Dakota

Northern hree-fourths fWisconsin

Peninsula

of

Michigan

Degree

2

Southern

half of

Minnesota

Western

half of North

Dakota

Northeast

and

southeast corners

of

South

Dakota

Degree3

Northwestcorner

of

South

Dakota

Northernone-thirdof Iowa

Eastern

hree-fourths

f

Montana

In

conclusion,

it

may

be

said that

Duluth

wholesaling

of

clothing

and no-

tions

could

readily

be

expanded

with

the

advent

of

the

St.

Lawrence

Waterway

to a

greater

intensity

in the areas

now

covered

and to new areas. Two

factors

might

make that

possible:

(I)

reduced

cost of transportation, which does not

seem to be

as

important

in the case

of

clothing

and notions

as in other

fields,

and

(2)

the

addition

of

unique

or

low-

priced

foreign

merchandise

to

present

lines of merchandise.

It

may

be

said,

further,

hat

this

case

illustrates

the fact that while

natural

factors,

such

as

location and

transporta-

tion

cost,

tend to determine

market

areas,

the

forces of

differentiation,

uch

as

personal

service,

still make

possible

profitable

operation

in areas

normally

covered

by

other market

centers.

RICHARD

. SIELAFF

University f

Minnesota

Duluth,

Minnesota

to a

greater

intensity

in the areas

now

covered

and to new areas. Two

factors

might

make that

possible:

(I)

reduced

cost of transportation, which does not

seem to be

as

important

in the case

of

clothing

and notions

as in other

fields,

and

(2)

the

addition

of

unique

or

low-

priced

foreign

merchandise

to

present

lines of merchandise.

It

may

be

said,

further,

hat

this

case

illustrates

the fact that while

natural

factors,

such

as

location and

transporta-

tion

cost,

tend to determine

market

areas,

the

forces of

differentiation,

uch

as

personal

service,

still make

possible

profitable

operation

in areas

normally

covered

by

other market

centers.

RICHARD

. SIELAFF

University f

Minnesota

Duluth,

Minnesota

RELATIVE

IMPORTANCE

OF

IMPULSE-BUYING

IN RETAIL STORES

RELATIVE

IMPORTANCE

OF

IMPULSE-BUYING

IN RETAIL STORES

ETAIL

merchants know

that

a

cer-

tain

percentage

of

their

sales are

made to

customers who

buy

in

response

to

a

sudden

impulse.

It

is

also

a

generally

accepted opinion

that

some

types

of

items are more

subject

to

impulse-sales

than

is the

case for other

types.

An

op-

portunity

to

gain

some

insight

into

these

matters

was

afforded when

on

two

oc-

casions in January and February of

I948

a

shortage

of

gas

in

three

west

Texas

towns

resulted

in

an

almost

universal

closing

of

business

establishments for

the entire

business

day.

The

closings

were

unannounced

ahead of

the

actual

so-called

gas

holidays.

The

public

was

informed over

the local

radio

sta-

tions that the

mayors

of

the

three af-

fected towns

had

asked

all

stores

to

close

for that day. The stores observed the

closings

almost Ioo

per

cent.

The

condi-

ETAIL

merchants know

that

a

cer-

tain

percentage

of

their

sales are

made to

customers who

buy

in

response

to

a

sudden

impulse.

It

is

also

a

generally

accepted opinion

that

some

types

of

items are more

subject

to

impulse-sales

than

is the

case for other

types.

An

op-

portunity

to

gain

some

insight

into

these

matters

was

afforded when

on

two

oc-

casions in January and February of

I948

a

shortage

of

gas

in

three

west

Texas

towns

resulted

in

an

almost

universal

closing

of

business

establishments for

the entire

business

day.

The

closings

were

unannounced

ahead of

the

actual

so-called

gas

holidays.

The

public

was

informed over

the local

radio

sta-

tions that the

mayors

of

the

three af-

fected towns

had

asked

all

stores

to

close

for that day. The stores observed the

closings

almost Ioo

per

cent.

The

condi-

tions

surrounding

hese two

holidays

af-

forded

a

unique

opportunity

to

study

the effect

upon

the

volume

of

retail

sales

in

the

areas

affected.

The

main

type

of

data

sought

in

the

study

was

information

on

whether

sales

lost

during

the

weeks in

which

the one-

day closings

occurred

were

made

up

in

the

following

week. An

assumption

was

made that the more

important

that im-

pulse

purchases

were to a

given

store

the

less

likely

it

would be to

make

up

its

sales

the

week

following.

The

closings

occurred wo

weeks

apart,

and

therefore

there

was

one

full

week

between

them

during

which

sales

had

an

opportunity

to

build

back

up

to

offset

the

holiday

losses.

During

the five

week

period

covered

in

this

study

the

weather

was

ratheruniformlycold and disagreeable.

One

hundred

and

fifty

four

retail

tions

surrounding

hese two

holidays

af-

forded

a

unique

opportunity

to

study

the effect

upon

the

volume

of

retail

sales

in

the

areas

affected.

The

main

type

of

data

sought

in

the

study

was

information

on

whether

sales

lost

during

the

weeks in

which

the one-

day closings

occurred

were

made

up

in

the

following

week. An

assumption

was

made that the more

important

that im-

pulse

purchases

were to a

given

store

the

less

likely

it

would be to

make

up

its

sales

the

week

following.

The

closings

occurred wo

weeks

apart,

and

therefore

there

was

one

full

week

between

them

during

which

sales

had

an

opportunity

to

build

back

up

to

offset

the

holiday

losses.

During

the five

week

period

covered

in

this

study

the

weather

was

ratheruniformlycold and disagreeable.

One

hundred

and

fifty

four

retail

THE

yOURNAL

OF

MzRKETING

HE

yOURNAL

OF

MzRKETING

66

l

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3/6

THE YOURNAL

OF

MARKETING

stores

were

ncluded

n

this

survey.They

represented

19

types

of

stores, although

only

I2

types

were

represented

by

five

or more stores. The breakdown by types

is shown

for the

town of

Lubbock

only.

(See

Table

I.)

It is

by

far the

largest

of

the three

towns

covered,

with

a

popula-

tion

of

about

65,00o.

The

other two

towns have

populations

between

Io,ooo

to

20,000.

The

cooperating

store

managers

were

asked

to

supply

the interviewers

with

figures

for the

weekly

gross

sales of the

establishments

or the five week

period

which

started one week before the

weekcontaining

he first

one-dayclosing

and

extended

to

the week

following

the

week

containing

he second

holiday.

The

managers

were also asked these two

questions:

I.

Do

you

believe

hat

your

otalannual

sales

would

be less if all stores

selling

the same

products

r

services

hat

you

sell

would

agree

o remain

open

only

TABLE

I.

MANAGERS' ESTIMATES

OF

IMPULSE-SALES;

AND

ACTUAL EFFECT

UPON

VOLUME

OF SALES

OF

TWO UNEXPECTED ONE-DAY CLOSINGS

OF

154

RETAIL

STORES

Data on Fluctuations in Sales Cover a Five Week Period

Mgrs.'

Est.

Would

40

hr.

Per

cent

of

Deviation

n

Sales*from

Se

No f

of

Per

cent

week

decrease

rst

Week,

.e.,

the

Base Weekt

Key

Type

of Store

No.

of

Impulse-

sales?

Type

f

Store

s

ployes

Salesare

of

2nd

Week

4th Week

Foot

ployees

TotalSales Don't

t

Closed

rd Week

Closed

th

Week

t

(Averages)*

Yes

No

Know

Week

I

day

day

no

LUBBOCK

Variety

7

I71

60.48

0

4

3

0.0

-16.54

+

0.64

-I5.91

-

7.91

I

M

Grocery

26

350

26.02

20 2

4

0.0

-I5.45

-

0.05

-I0.36

-

6.85

I

W

Service

Station

13 77

14.80

8

5

0

o.o

-I3.81

-

4.38

-I2.70

-

7.3I

I

W

Book 6

22

14.66

2 I

3

0.0

-31.84 + 2.32

-20.23

+

4.18 I S

Department

5

203

I4.54

2

3

o

o0.0

-25.24 +19.99 -I2.5I

+21.49

PS

Men's

Clothes

4

33 13.68

2 2 0

0.0

+ 0.8I

+45.84

-35-43 -39.19

?

Gift

4

7

I3.21

I

3

0

0.0

-I2.86

+

7.86

+98.21 +30.93

?

Ladies

Wear

15

I03

I2.33

I2

3

o o.o

-45.71 -27.86

-27.72

-

6.44

I

W

Barber

Shop 5

i8

I2.26

2

3

o

o.o

-

9.62

-

7.72

-14.20

-

0.35

I

W

Jewelry 5

62

11.81

4

I

0

0.0o

5.09 -11.29

-I6.2I

-25.62

?

Beauty Shop 5

I8

11.31

2

3

0

o.o

-I5.30

+

3.08

-

8.80

+10.22

PW

Theater

(Movie) o0

91

Io.I2

10

0 0

0.0

-20.27

-

8.36

-I7.24

-26.10 ?

Florist

I

4

10.00

I

0 0

0.0

-34.00

0.00

+77.00

+26.00

?

Hardware

5

62

10.00

3

2

0

0.0

.89

9

4.79

+

0-57

+

4.68

?

Sport

Goods

I

4

I0.00

I

0 0

o.o

-67.00 -36.00

-26.00

+55.00

?

Furniture

5 31

3.8I

4

I

0

o.o -28.86

-20.51

-29.14

-32.99

?

Auto

Supply

4

97

3.51 3

i

o

o.o

-

6.28

-

2.31

-I6.59

+

0.37

I

W

Lumber

I

8 2.00

0

0

I

0.0

-20.00

+i6.00

-30.00

0.00

I

M

Paint & Paper I

Ii

No. Ans.

I 0 0 0.0

-34.00 -65.00 -66.00

-70.00

?

Total or

Average 123

1372

20.83 78 34

II

0.0

-17.82

-

0.98

-I3.41

-

4.27

I

S

PLAINVIEW

18

198

3I.I5

io

8 0

0.0

-I9.89

+

2.93

-2I.42

+

1.87

IS

LEVELLAND

13

68

17.72

Io

I

2

0.0

-

9.09

-

1.36

-

2.94

-

5.85

?

Grand

Total

or

Average

154 1638

21.80

98

43

13

0.0

-I7.70

-

0.52

-13.95

-

3 59

I

S

Source:

Personal

Interviews with

managers

of

154

retail

establishments

in

Lubbock,

Plainview

&

Levelland,

Texas.

*

Weighted

by

number of

employees

in

each

store.

Weighting

by

this

method

instead of

by gross

sales

was

necessary

because

some

stores

furnished

percentage

figures

only.

t

Base

week was

the week

before

the week

containing

the first

one

day closing

of

the stores.

:

I

means

pattern

of

fluctuation

that

indicates

definite

presence

of

relatively large amount of impulse-sales (purchases).

P

means

pattern

is

that

for

planned-sales

(purchases).

S

means the

pattern

is

strong.

W

means

the

pattern

is

weak.

M

means the

pattern

is neither

particularly

strong

nor weak. ?

denotes

indefiniteness

of

pattern.

67

----

J

- - -

-

-- -

--

---

-----

- -

-



4/6

68

THE JOURNAL

OF

MARKETING

forty

hours

per

week?

2. About what

percentage

of

your

total

sales

do

you

estimate

are made

to

cus-

tomers

who

decide

to

buy

on the

spur

of themoment?

The

findings

are

summarized

in

the

accompanying

table.

OPINIONS

OF

MANAGERS

Ninety-eight,

or

approximately

two

thirds

of

the

I54 managers

interviewed,

in

answering

question

I

estimated

that the

reduced

forty

hour

week

would

decrease their

sales. A

little

over

a

fourth

(28

per

cent)

did

not

believe

that

the

forty

hour

week

would

reduce

sales.

The

remaining

8

per

cent

said

they

did

not

know. The

reason for

asking

this

question

is

the

assumption

that

impulse-

sales

are

more

affected than

planned-

sales

by

length

of

store

hours. If a

manager

expected

shorter

hours

would

decrease

sales

then,

according

to

this

assumption,

the

manager

should

also

indicate that a

relatively

high

percentage

of

his

sales are

due to

impulse-buying.

That

some

managers

did not

recognize

or

agree

with

this

assumption

is

evident

in

the

answers

which

they

gave

to

question

2

above. In

studying

the

answers shown in

the

table it

can

be

seen

that

none of

the

seven

variety

store

managers

thought

that

shorter

hours

would

reduce

sales

in

their

stores.

Yet

their average estimate of the percentage

of

impulse-sales

to

total

sales

was

60.48

per

cent,

the

highest

for

any

of

the

types

of

stores. For

all

managers,

the

average

of

the

estimates

of

the

percentage

of

their

sales

that

were

due to

impulse-

buying

was

21.8

per

cent.

A

breakdown

by

type

of

store

is shown

for

the

123

stores

studied

in

Lubbock.

Here

it can

be

seen,

for

example,

that all

ten of the managers of the theaters

covered

thought

that

the

shorter

week

would

cause a

decline in

sales.

The

managers

also

estimated

that

about

io

per

cent

of

their

patrons

came

n

because

of

a

sudden

impulseto see a movie. Of

the

26

grocerystores, 20,

or

77

per

cent,

thought

sales

would

be

reduced

by

a

shorter

forty

hour

week.

As

to

the

rela-

tive

importance

of

impulse-sales

we

find

that

the

highest

percentage,

60.48

per

cent,

is

found

for

the

seven

variety

stores,

and

the

lowest,

among

the

types

represented

by

fiveor

more

stores,

s

3.8I

per

cent

for

the

five

furniture

stores.

The

26

grocery

stores

also

rankedas

the

second

highest

type

in

impulse-sales,

with

their

managers

giving

estimates

that

averaged

26.02

per

cent.

It

is

hardly

necessary

to

point

out

that

the

opinions

obtained

from

the

store

managers

covered

in

this

survey

when

broken

down

into

types

of

stores

have

quite

limited

significance

because

of

the

very

small

number

of

stores in-

cluded

in

most

of

the

types.

Neverthe-

less, the breakdownby types is givenfor

whatever

significance

t

may

have for

the

comparisons

that

may

be

made

among

the

different

ypes

of

stores.

It

is

possible

that

for

most

of

the

types

that

are

represented

by

five or

more

stores

the

representation

s

large

enough

to

make

the

stated

opinions

worth

some

at-

tention.

The

results

by

types

of

stores in

re-

gardto changes n actual sales over the

five

week

period

as

reported

by

the

managers

are

considered

o

carry

more

significance

han

the

data on

opinions.

The

reasons

for

this

are that

the

sales

figures

are

real,

measurable

esults,

and

for

many

of

the

types

of

stores

covered

relatively

large

establishments

were in-

cluded.

The

five

department

stores

studied

had a

total

of

203

employees.

The seven variety stores employed 171

persons.

68

THE

YOURNAL

OF

M,4RKETING



5/6

69

II ,

I I

1

DATA

OF

ACTUAL

SALES

FLUCTUATIONS

Data

on

the

fluctuations

n total

sales

in

all

the

154

stores

surveyed

show

that

in the week with the first one-day

closing,

sales declined

I7.7

per

cent

from

the

previous

week,

or

the base week

as

it

is

called

in

this

study.

In

the

week

follow-

ing

the first

closing,

sales

bounced

up-

ward to

a

level

but

0.52

per

cent

below

the base

week.

Then

in

the

following

week

with

the second

one-day

closing,

sales

declined

again,

this

time

by

I3.95

per

cent

compared

to

the base

week.

The succeeding week sales rose again to

a

level

only

3.59

per

cent below

the

base

week. This

pattern

of

sales

fluctuations

over

the

five

week

period

covered in-

dicated

that

impulse buying,

and

per-

haps length

of

store

hours,

definitely

were

important

factors.

Sales

declined

in

the

weeks with

the

closings

and

in-

creased

again

the

following

week.

The

significant

point

in

these

figures,

in

re-

gard

to

the

measurement of

the

im-

portance

of

impulse

buying,

is

found in

the

fact

that the

total

sales

for

all

of

the

I54 stores,

and for

most of

the sub-

types,

in

the

weeks

following

each

closing

did not

increase

enough

to

offset

the

losses

during

the

holiday

weeks.

Instead,

in

the

case

of

the

total for

all

154

stores

the

sales

of

the

post-holiday

weeks

merely

increased

by

enough

to

bring

sales

almost

up

to

their

level

in

the

base

week,

that is the week before the first

closing.

In

other

words,

existence of

impulse

sales is

indicated

by

the

fact

that

customers

did

not

buy

enough

merchandise

in

the

week

following

each

holiday

to

make

up

for

the

purchases

that

they

apparently

would

have

made

if

the

stores

had not

closed.

There

are

variations,

of

course,

in

the

relative

im-

portance

of

impulse

sales

among

the

various types of stores, as can be seen

in

the

table. It

is

interesting

to

notice

that

but

two of

the

I9

types

of

stores

showed

definite

patterns

of

sales-fluctu-

ations that

indicated

planned

buying

was important enough to pull sales in

both

post-holiday

weeks

appreciably

above the

level of

the

base

week.

These

two

types

were

department

stores

and

beauty

shops.

THEORETICAL

ASSUMPTIONS OF

THIS

STUDY

According

to

the

theory

put

forth

in

this

article,

in a

given

store

with

Ioo

per cent of its sales due to impulse buy-

ing,

the

pattern

of

fluctuation

n

sales,

assuming

no

change

in

trendof

volume,

would

be

such

that

all

sales

that

could

not

be

made

due

to

the

one-day

clos-

ings

would

be

lost

forever.

The

de-

crease

in

sales

during

the

week

of

the

holiday

would not

be

made

up

in

the

following

week.

Sales

in

that

post-holi-

day

week

would

merely

return

to

the

level of the baseweek.

In

studying

the

patterns

forthe

types

of

stores

shown

in

the

table,

the im-

pulse

patterns

are

marked

with an

I

and

the

planned

patterns

with

a

P. If

the

pattern

was

considered

efiniteor

strong,

then

the

letter

S

follows;

if the

pattern

was

considered

weak

the

letter W

is

added;

if

medium in

definiteness,

the

letter M

is

used. A

question

mark,

?,

is

placed

after

each

type

of

store in

which no definite

pattern

was

discern-

ible.

If

these

fluctuations

are

plotted

on

a

graph,

the

sales

fluctuation

n

types

of

stores

where

mpulse

sales are

relatively

important

will

form

a

letter W.

The

three

top parts

of the

letter will

be

on

the

same level

as

the

sales

of

the

base

week

before

the

holiday

weeks.

The

two

holiday

weeks

are

represented

by

the

two bottom dips in the W. The

deeper

the

dips

the

more

important

are

THE

YOURNAL

OF

MARKETING



6/6

700 THE

7OURNAL

OF

MARKETING

HE

7OURNAL

OF

MARKETING

the

impulse

sales. If

planned

sales

pre-

dominate,

the

shape

of the W

is

changed,

and

the second

and third

tops

of the letter will be higher than the

first

top.

In

attempting

to discoverthe

relative

importance

of

impulse buying

for

each

type

of

store,

the

percentage

fluctua-

tions

in

sales were

observed,

and also

the

shape

of

the sales

curves,

when

plotted

on

graphs.

The

results can be

seen

in

the

last column

in

the

table.

For

the

total

of

all

of

the

154

stores

a

definite

impulse-

pattern

is

discernible. The

same

is

true

for

the

I23

stores

in

Lubbock and

the

I8

in

Plainview. As

for

the

various

types

of

stores,

a

strong

impulse-pattern

is

shown

for

the six

book

stores. Their

gift

items and

knickknacks

must

account

for

a

large

part

of

this,

although

books

themselves

may

be

subject

to

much

impulse

buying.

In

contrast,

a

strong

pattern

of

planned

buying

is

clearly

evident for

the

five

department

stores.

This is not

surprising

for such

shopping-

goods

stores.

The

only

other

type

of

store

which

showed

a

planned-buying

pattern

was

beauty

shops.

CONCLUSIONS

The

fluctuations

in

sales shown for

the

grand

total

of all

the

154

stores

do

follow

a

pattern

that

indicates that

impulse

buying

definitely

influences

sales.

If

we

the

impulse

sales. If

planned

sales

pre-

dominate,

the

shape

of the W

is

changed,

and

the second

and third

tops

of the letter will be higher than the

first

top.

In

attempting

to discoverthe

relative

importance

of

impulse buying

for

each

type

of

store,

the

percentage

fluctua-

tions

in

sales were

observed,

and also

the

shape

of

the sales

curves,

when

plotted

on

graphs.

The

results can be

seen

in

the

last column

in

the

table.

For

the

total

of

all

of

the

154

stores

a

definite

impulse-

pattern

is

discernible. The

same

is

true

for

the

I23

stores

in

Lubbock and

the

I8

in

Plainview. As

for

the

various

types

of

stores,

a

strong

impulse-pattern

is

shown

for

the six

book

stores. Their

gift

items and

knickknacks

must

account

for

a

large

part

of

this,

although

books

themselves

may

be

subject

to

much

impulse

buying.

In

contrast,

a

strong

pattern

of

planned

buying

is

clearly

evident for

the

five

department

stores.

This is not

surprising

for such

shopping-

goods

stores.

The

only

other

type

of

store

which

showed

a

planned-buying

pattern

was

beauty

shops.

CONCLUSIONS

The

fluctuations

in

sales shown for

the

grand

total

of all

the

154

stores

do

follow

a

pattern

that

indicates that

impulse

buying

definitely

influences

sales.

If

we

were to

assume

a

trend line

showing

a

slight

declinein

sales,

such as

might

be

established

by

the

post-holiday

week

figures of -0.52 per cent and -3.59 per

cent

of the

base

week,

we

might

make

the

tentative

statement

that lost

sales

seemed

to

constitute

somewhere

between

o1

per

cent

and

17

per

cent of

total

sales in

the

retail stores

covered

in this

survey.

These

percentages

are

obtained

by taking

the

differences

shown

between

-I7.70

per

cent

and

-0.52

per

cent,

which

equals

17.18

per

cent;

and

-I3.95

per

cent

and

-3.59 percent, whichequals

IO.36

per

cent.

When it

is recalled

that the

stores

were

closed

approximately

16

per

cent

of

the

usual

business

day

time

during

the

holiday

weeks,

the

10

per

cent to

I7

per

cent

figures

for

lost

sales

strikingly

point

to

the

great

importance

of

impulse

sales

and

length

of

store

hours. It

is

possible

of

course,

that

some of the

lost

sales

that

were not

made

up

in

the

immediate

post-holiday

week were

made

up

at

later

dates.

The

findings

of this

study,

never-

theless,

seem

to indicate

the

great

impor-

tance

of

impulse buying,

and

the

ad-

visability

of a

retailer

following

a

policy

of

making

it

as

easy

as

possible

for

con-

sumers to

make

purchases.

VERNONT. CLOVER

Texas

Technological

College

Lubbock,

Texas

were to

assume

a

trend line

showing

a

slight

declinein

sales,

such as

might

be

established

by

the

post-holiday

week

figures of -0.52 per cent and -3.59 per

cent

of the

base

week,

we

might

make

the

tentative

statement

that lost

sales

seemed

to

constitute

somewhere

between

o1

per

cent

and

17

per

cent of

total

sales in

the

retail stores

covered

in this

survey.

These

percentages

are

obtained

by taking

the

differences

shown

between

-I7.70

per

cent

and

-0.52

per

cent,

which

equals

17.18

per

cent;

and

-I3.95

per

cent

and

-3.59 percent, whichequals

IO.36

per

cent.

When it

is recalled

that the

stores

were

closed

approximately

16

per

cent

of

the

usual

business

day

time

during

the

holiday

weeks,

the

10

per

cent to

I7

per

cent

figures

for

lost

sales

strikingly

point

to

the

great

importance

of

impulse

sales

and

length

of

store

hours. It

is

possible

of

course,

that

some of the

lost

sales

that

were not

made

up

in

the

immediate

post-holiday

week were

made

up

at

later

dates.

The

findings

of this

study,

never-

theless,

seem

to indicate

the

great

impor-

tance

of

impulse buying,

and

the

ad-

visability

of a

retailer

following

a

policy

of

making

it

as

easy

as

possible

for

con-

sumers to

make

purchases.

VERNONT. CLOVER

Texas

Technological

College

Lubbock,

Texas

PATTERN

OF

BUYING

FARM

EQUIPMENT

AND

SUPPLIES*

ATTERN

OF

BUYING

FARM

EQUIPMENT

AND

SUPPLIES*

T

HIS

report

is

a

summary

of

the

findings

of

a

study

made

on

the

buy-

ing

habits

and

practices

of

farmers

of

Parke

County,

Indiana,

when

purchas-

ing

farm

equipment

and

supplies.

Parke

County

was

selected

as

a

typical

Indi-

ana farming county. For example, 84

*

University

of

Illinois

study

made

under

supervision

of

Professors

P.

D.

Converse

and

C.

H.

Sandage.

T

HIS

report

is

a

summary

of

the

findings

of

a

study

made

on

the

buy-

ing

habits

and

practices

of

farmers

of

Parke

County,

Indiana,

when

purchas-

ing

farm

equipment

and

supplies.

Parke

County

was

selected

as

a

typical

Indi-

ana farming county. For example, 84

*

University

of

Illinois

study

made

under

supervision

of

Professors

P.

D.

Converse

and

C.

H.

Sandage.

per

cent

of the

areaof

the

county

was in

farms

compared

with a

state

average

of

86

per cent;

81

per

cent of

the

farms

are

operated

by

ownersor

part

ownerscom-

pared

with

77

per

cent

in

the

State;

56

per

cent of

the

farm

income

comes

from

livestock comparedwith 57 per cent for

the

State;

the

average

value of

farms

of

more than

30

acres in

Parke

County

per

cent

of the

areaof

the

county

was in

farms

compared

with a

state

average

of

86

per cent;

81

per

cent of

the

farms

are

operated

by

ownersor

part

ownerscom-

pared

with

77

per

cent

in

the

State;

56

per

cent of

the

farm

income

comes

from

livestock comparedwith 57 per cent for

the

State;

the

average

value of

farms

of

more than

30

acres in

Parke

County


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