Koster: A marketer’s dream
hanging display of … table tennis balls! This happened to me recently, and I have the picture to prove it.
Now, I have no idea which grocery store think tank analysts figured out that the table tennis balls/cauliflower pizza crust combo was likely to snare customers in a onetwo punch of “must own,” but …
Among the other foods I’ve purchased on impulse recently are:
n A Heath bar (excellent decision)
n A bag of dried mango chips (tasted good at first, but a few dried mango chips goes a long way)
n A strawberry cheesecake fried pie at 7-Eleven and a product of their own 7-Eleven bakery (unable to discern that any of the chemically flavored goo within the crust reminded me of strawberries or cream cheese)
n Speaking of house brands, and from a while back, the Cajun Blend Trail Mix from CVS’ Gold Emblem products (truly fun and we buy this stuff with some regularity)
Among the many low points in impulse purchases occurred when Eileen and I were driving to Vermont years ago for our first foliage trip. We stopped at a quaint roadside farmer’s market, all trimmed with pumpkins and cornstalks, and bought some
stuff. At the last moment, I spied a bag of “Vermont maple cookies,” pre-packaged, and we tossed that on the counter along with our other purchases.
Back in the car, eager for more seasonal Vermont-ness, we tore into the maple cookies. After about two chews each, we looked at each other.
“This is what I think graveyard dirt tastes like,” Eileen said, a queasy look on her face.
“It IS what graveyard dirt tastes like — and don’t ask
me how I know that.”
Closer inspection revealed the cookies sell-by date had expired, oh, during the Korean War — which goes to show you that, even in the most seemingly idyllic circumstances, an impulse buy can be risky.
What about you? Care to share any success stories or failures from your recent impulse buys? Email me at r.koster@theday.com and we’ll publish some of our responses with the next column.