61.1% Have Experienced Impulse Buying at Convenience Stores, Over 70% Among Young Women (Survey by EXCREA)

EXCREA Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo; President: Toru Ogasawara), a group company of Cross Marketing Group Co., Ltd. that provides social and sales promotion services, conducted a "Survey on the Purchasing Impact of In-store and Product Strategies at Convenience Stores (2026)" via Web questionnaire from Monday, March 30 to Wednesday, April 8, 2026. The survey targeted 1,198 men and women nationwide aged 15 to 69 who use convenience stores at least once a week.

● Survey Summary
- Convenience store in-store circulation: Compared to other age groups, teenagers are more likely to "just take a lap" or "freely browse depending on their mood."
- Unplanned purchases (impulse buying): Experienced by over 60%, and over 70% among young women.
- Highest impact on purchasing: "Products with issued coupons."
- In-store and product strategies have a strong impact on "awareness and interest generation," with "prominent positions on product shelves" being more influential than other strategies.
Download all survey results here.

● Survey Results
[Convenience store in-store circulation: Compared to other age groups, teenagers are more likely to "just take a lap" or "freely browse depending on their mood"]
Regarding how people circulate inside convenience stores, the overall highest percentage was 35.2% for "Following a somewhat fixed route, but stopping by areas of interest." Teenagers showed a higher percentage of "Just taking a lap" and "Freely browsing depending on the mood of the day" compared to other age groups. (Figure 1)
Figure 1: In-store circulation methods (Single answer)

[Unplanned purchases (impulse buying) experienced by over 60%, over 70% among young women]
When asked about the frequency of unplanned purchases (impulse buying), 61.1% answered "Yes (often + sometimes)." By gender and age, 73.0% of female teenagers and 72.0% of females in their 20s and 30s make impulse purchases, showing a particularly high rate among young women. (Figure 2)
Figure 2: Frequency of unplanned purchases (impulse buying) (Single answer)

[Highest impact on purchasing: "Products with issued coupons"]
When asked if they ever purchase products due to the influence of in-store and product strategies while shopping at convenience stores, the percentage of "Yes (often + sometimes)" was highest for "Products with issued coupons" (64.4%) among all strategies. This was followed by "Products placed in prominent positions on shelves" (56.6%) and "Campaign target products" (54.3%). (Figure 3)
Figure 3: Frequency of product purchases influenced by in-store/product strategies (Single answer)

[In-store and product strategies have a strong impact on "awareness and interest generation," with "prominent positions on product shelves" being more influential than other strategies]
When asked how in-store and product strategies influence the process from product awareness to purchase, across all strategies, "Became an opportunity to know the product" and "Became interested in/picked up the product" were high, indicating a relatively large impact on the awareness and interest generation stage. In particular, for "Products placed in prominent positions on shelves," both of these awareness and interest generation items were the highest among all strategies. (Figure 4)
Figure 4: Experience from product awareness to purchase influenced by in-store/product strategies (Multiple answers)

In addition to the above, the survey also asks about the "Reasons for unplanned purchases (impulse buying)" and "Purchasing behavior patterns originating from SNS and video services."
Download all survey results here.

● Survey Items
- Convenience store usage frequency (Single answer)
- Days of the week convenience stores are frequently used (Multiple answers)
- Time zones convenience stores are frequently used (Multiple answers)
- Frequently used convenience store chains (Multiple answers)
- Product genres purchased at convenience stores (Multiple answers)
- Changes in purchase volume of product genres purchased at convenience stores (Single answer)
- Degree of prior planned purchasing for products bought (Single answer)
- Information sources referenced when making purchase plans (Multiple answers)
- In-store circulation methods (Single answer)
- Frequency of product purchases influenced by in-store/product strategies (Single answer)
- Experience from product awareness to purchase influenced by in-store/product strategies (Multiple answers)
- Frequency of unplanned purchases (impulse buying) (Single answer)
- Product genres for unplanned purchases (impulse buying) (Multiple answers)
- Reasons for unplanned purchases (impulse buying) (Multiple answers)
- SNS/video services usually used (Multiple answers)
- Purchasing behavior patterns originating from SNS and video services (Multiple answers)

● Survey Overview
Survey Title: Survey on the Purchasing Impact of In-store and Product Strategies at Convenience Stores (2026)
Survey Period: Monday, March 30 to Wednesday, April 8, 2026
Survey Method: Survey using Cross Marketing QiQUMO
Survey Target: Men and women aged 15 to 69 living nationwide (1,198 people) who answered "I use a convenience store at least once a week" in the screening survey.

[Company Profile]
Company Name: EXCREA Co., Ltd.
Representative: Toru Ogasawara, President and Representative Director