Impulse buying in the digital age: AI impact explained

Buy now, think later!

That’s probably the most suitable phrase to describe the major principle woven into the behavioral patterns of impulse shoppers. They browse social media channels or product/service webpages and buy instinctively, irrationally, without weighing the options. And guess who whispers that phrase into their ears repeatedly and prompts them to purchase goods and services?

More accurately speaking, not “who” but “what”: artificial intelligence (AI). AI’s impact on impulse purchasing is immense and practically immeasurable in terms of concrete numbers. Yet, we’ll try to estimate it together by enumerating several of the most obvious and explanatory examples of brands using AI to trigger impulse buying in their customers. We’ve also prepared a couple of handy AI tools for you to do the same.

Join us as we unpack it all in this article.

What is impulse shopping online, and how can AI promote it?

Impulse buying in the digital space occurs when people make unplanned (completely spontaneous) online purchases.

This phenomenon is deeply carved into the bedrock of human psychology. Here are the most powerful psychological triggers of impulse shopping behaviors:

Strong emotions or feelings (curiosity, excitement, surprise, nostalgia, or even boredom)
Cognitive biases (the feeling of scarcity or loss aversion)
Social proof (customer reviews, testimonials, or popularity indicators like “best seller” tags)
FOMO (the fear of missing out)
Personalization
Visual appeal (attractive web designs or ads)
Prompt reward (points, bonuses, or gifts)

But what does artificial intelligence have to do with these?

In fact, AI is the fastest and smartest technology (so far) on the market, and it can take the steering wheel and drive buyers to spur-of-the-moment purchasing decisions more efficiently. You don’t have to bother about anything now. Artificial intelligence can roll up the sleeves and do the heavy-lifting job instead of you. It can be an AI-backed product recommendation system, an AI self-service bot, an AI-powered customer review analysis tool, or a generative AI tool like ChatGPT typing email sales pitches or promotions.

Let’s review the most common use cases of AI influencing impulse purchase intent in online shoppers.

6 tips to encourage impulse buying with AI

1. Invest in smart advertising and retargeting on social media

Let’s go social first, shall we?

On social media specifically, Rodger Desai, CEO of Prove, highlights the benefits of behavioral ad targeting and retargeting powered by artificial intelligence to provoke impulse purchases. He mentions, “What I particularly like about smart social media advertising is that some platforms already have in-built AI tools for targeted and retargeted ads. For instance, Facebook offers a Meta Advantage+ feature for AI-curated advertising on the platform. Following the lead, TikTok announced the Smart+ feature for AI-powered ad campaigns.”

Let’s take the case of Babbel, a language-learning platform. The brand converts customers back with a retargeted Facebook ad after they have visited the website. Babbel also uses a bright image with contrasting colors for higher visual and emotional appeal.

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Note: AI ad retargeting also creates a connected customer experience across two touchpoints (the website and the social network) with a personalized approach (a trigger of impulse shopping) and lingering emotion (it acts as another trigger if it’s strong enough) from the previous interaction with the brand.

Check out these AI tools: Pencil AI, MarinSoftware, Admaker by Picsart.‍

2. Personalize customer experiences with AI

Out of all use cases, in this situation, AI’s impact on impulse buying is as gigantic as ever.

Let’s specify.

Advanced AI algorithms analyze online shopping behaviors and deliver a personalized customer experience by crafting deals and picking products individually for every person. The human brain interprets it as “Oh, that’s my size/favorite color/etc.” So, the customer impulsively clicks the “Add to cart” button without planning.

Here are the brightest examples of brands from different industries relying on AI personalization:

Spotify (music industry) → The audio streaming brand sends AI-powered push notifications while promoting new music releases or concert tickets based on users’ listening habits.
Nike (sportswear industry) → The AI-based Nike App recommends running shoes upon screening customers’ activity levels and purchasing history.
Starbucks (coffee industry) → Deep Brew AI at Starbucks analyzes customers’ coffee tastes and tailors marketing campaigns based on the data collected.
Sephora (beauty and cosmetics industry) → Sephora’s Virtual Artist (powered by artificial intelligence + augmented reality) scans customers’ faces and lets them try different virtual make-ups to give personalized product recommendations.

Source

3. Create a dynamic pricing strategy

What’s that, and how can AI influence impulse buying behaviors through price dynamism?

Machine learning and predictive analytics algorithms allow real-time price modifications depending on consumer demand, inventory levels, or even competitors’ price tags.

According to Jarret Austin, Owner of Bankruptcy Canada, dynamic prices are one of the most beneficial and cost-effective solutions when using AI to drive impulse shopping behaviors. He says, “AI juggles your product or service prices so that you never lose a single cent and always reach a mutual-gain result with your customers. Simply put: they get discounts or perks; you receive profits.”

He explains further how AI-driven dynamic pricing strategies may work: “Let’s say artificial intelligence generates limited-time offers or flash sales on the fly while your customer is browsing your product pages. Alternatively, it may design personalized coupon codes or electronic gift cards for digital impulse buyers.”

In this case, a brilliant example is Walmart’s psychological pricing strategy, developed by artificial intelligence for impulse buying in the e-store. AI-created digital “rollbacks,” aka temporary price reductions on the website, often lead to impulse purchases through personalized suggestions.

For example:

Here’s a product suggestion with a rolled-back price for the customer based on the preferred color (green).

Source

Check out these AI tools: Maxify.ai, Revionics AI, Imprice.ai.

4. For emails: generate FOMO-inducing subject lines

I Hope You Didn’t Miss It?...

With this subject line, Alithea Gibson (CEO of Moms Mind Transform) comes into the customer’s inbox, referring to the five-day challenge. Just like many other brands, she taps into psychographic segmentation and immediately evokes a sense of FOMO.

Look at the following FOMO-filled subject lines from other companies:

Now Or Never: Receive Up To A 5-Piece Gift – Shiseido
HOURS left – you’ll regret missing this... – The Body Shop
Last chance to save big– Nike‍
Don’t miss these limited-edition Ultra Open Earbuds! – Bose‍
It’s the final countdown – Less than 24 hours left – The Motley Fool‍
Last Chance Today: Don’t Delay. The Master Class is Filling Quickly! – Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School

To achieve a similar effect, turn to AI subject line generators to craft compelling subject lines that stimulate impulse buying via email.

Check out these AI tools: Smartlead.ai, Typli.ai, EcoSend.io.

5. Design an emotionally engaging chatbot

Here's how Hibob Bot, an AI-powered chatbot, greets the user on Hibob’s website.

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It instantly evokes powerful emotions (surprise and amusement) in the web visitor. Emotional AI implementation like this resonates well with eCommerce customers and sparks impulse buying behavior while tugging at the heartstrings with positive sentiment.

“To make an AI chatbot even more emotionally resonant for impulse buyers,” suggests Nora Sudduth, Founder & Owner at Nora Sudduth Consulting, “humanize it so that it should remind a conversation with a real person. It shouldn’t appear and sound ‘artificial’ or machine-like. Let it instead speak and act in a more human-like and, consequently, more emotional way.”

Nora Sudduth outlines these three key tactics to make your AI-based chatbot more emotionally intelligent for impulse shopping:

Give it a human name (Sophia at LEGO or Lisa at Giesswein)
“Teach” it the fun and relatable emoji language
Make it an animated character with a human appearance.

6. Monitor AI’s work to prevent manipulative tactics

And, of course, no AI talk is complete without addressing ethical and legal concerns.

“If left out of control,” forewarns Chris Aubeeluck, Head of Sales and Marketing at Osbornes Law, “artificial intelligence may produce untruthful or manipulative messages. They can sabotage your marketing efforts, weaken customer trust, or even violate legal regulations. Most consumer protection laws prohibit manipulative marketing tactics, such as false scarcity, deceptive pricing, or misleading subject lines.”

For example:

Suppose an AI tool generates the following subject line: “Your order is ready with a HUGE prize,” This enticing message might prompt someone to open it, expecting a reward. However, if the recipient didn’t place an order and the email contains no actual prize, this misleading approach erodes trust.

While such a subject line may increase open rates in the short term, it risks damaging customer loyalty in the long run.

To avoid such scenarios, conduct regular audits of AI in customer experience management and marketing campaigns. Also, constantly double-check AI’s accuracy and truthfulness.

Last Note (+ One More AI Tool)

Let’s be realists—you will move nowhere without proper customer understanding.

So, here’s another advanced AI tool that will help you get a sharper sense of your customer’s motivations and preferences and boost impulse buying in your business niche.

Try Clootrack, an AI-enabled customer intelligence platform to understand what your customers genuinely want from your brand, what they think about your design or pricing strategy, with what emotional intensity they discuss your products/services, and more! We pull out the right customer conversations and analyzes them to lay out meaningful insights for data-driven marketing decisions.

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Request personalized demo now!

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Author Bio

Roman Shvydun is a writer specializing in business, marketing, and technology, contributing to over 60 SaaS websites. Making complex subjects accessible, Roman has become a recognized voice in the SaaS industry, shaping discussions around key trends and developments.

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Impulse buying in the digital age: AI impact explained

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