José Aparicio on "La Tarde de Telemadrid": Why do we buy what we buy?

Have you ever gone to a vending machine for a coffee and came back with your hands full of snacks and sweets? You are not alone, and it is no coincidence. José Aparicio, founding partner of Crater and strategy director, participated last 4 February in the programme La Tarde de Telemadrid to explain the psychological and marketing mechanisms behind every impulse purchase in a vending machine.

A new regulation that changes the rules of the game

Aparicio's intervention comes at a key moment, as the Government of Spain has promoted a Royal Decree that requires that, at a minimum, 80% of the products available in vending machines in hospitals, care homes and workplaces represent healthy options. The regulations require that products such as water, fresh fruit, non-fried nuts, yoghurts with no added sugar and wholemeal breads occupy the main space of vending machines, while ultra-processed foods (industrial pastries, salty snacks and sugary drinks) are relegated to the less visible rows. In addition, hot drinks will be dispensed without sugar by default, with an optional maximum of five grams. In Spain there are more than 390,000 food and drink vending machines, and the consumption of ultra-processed foods has tripled in the last two decades, going from 11% to 32%.

Impulse buying: when the brain decides before you do

During his intervention, Aparicio explained how impulse buying works, that is, that moment in which we acquire a product without having planned it and even without needing it. The vast majority of the decisions we make daily are linked more to emotion and instinct than to reason. Our brain makes the decision first and then rationally justifies it so that we feel comfortable with the choice. In fact, according to research in neuromarketing, up to 95% of purchasing decisions occur at a subconscious level.

The factors that lead us to buy

Aparicio identified several strategic elements that influence consumer behaviour in front of a vending machine:

• The location of the machine: its placement in transit or waiting areas facilitates spontaneous buying.

• Affordable price: the cost of the product should not be perceived as a barrier, but as something relatively cheap.

• Attractive packaging: the design of the packaging appeals directly to our emotions and senses.

• Ease of payment: cash, contactless card or mobile phone payment removes any friction.

• The position of the product inside the machine is, according to Aparicio, the most determining factor. Everything that appears at eye level, in the middle of the machine, is bought one out of two times.

The reason why a specific product occupies that privileged position responds to a purely commercial logic: the gross profit margin of pastries, snacks and vending drinks is between 40% and 60%. Brands know these dynamics and take advantage of them to maximise their sales.

In the end, as Aparicio explained on the programme, what really leads us to buy from a vending machine is something as simple —and as powerful— as the fact that the product is there.