Understanding Online Consumer Habits

The first step on the path to effective marketing is to know your audience. While obviously each one of us is different, there are several broad personalities that every online shopper falls into. Allow us to run you through the details, and the ways to effectively cater to them:

Bargain Hunters
Price-sensitive shoppers are one of the most obvious groups of online consumers. This type of shopper searches and compares across websites in order to get the best possible value for money. Remember, ‘best value’ doesn’t automatically mean ‘lowest price’.
The best way to deal with this type of customer is to refocus attention on other areas of the buying process. If your product has a distinct advantage over your competitors, put that front and centre. If that’s not a viable course of action, think about ways to increase its value. Bundling products together or offering bulk discounts is a simple and effective form of this.

Calculated Shoppers
Calculated Shoppers dislike making uninformed decisions, and concentrate on finding the best-quality product available. They like to know as much as possible about their prospective purchases before they commit any money – they’re in no hurry to make a decision and always compare options across sites. They’re often methodical and analytical, and their comparison habits make them highly susceptible to search engine advertising.
Other good ways to retain this type of customer are to provide industry resources for them to consult, like instructional videos or introductory articles. Or you might consider a comparison guide, showcasing your advantages over the competition. This keeps them active and looking at your site, as once they leave it’s unlikely they’ll come back.

Seekers
Seekers know exactly what they want, and won’t accept anything different. They also often know their product well, and you’d do well to establish yourself as a similar fountain of expertise if your product is at all specialised. They respond well to visuals like display network advertising, drawing their attention quickly to their chosen product. Seekers can be time-sensitive and impatient, so it’s wise to keep your checkout system to as few steps as possible. Allowing a guest checkout further speeds the process along, leading to fewer cart abandonments.

Window Shoppers
Starkly contrasting with Seekers are the Window-Shoppers. These shoppers are rarely browsing with any real purpose, but more often doing so for recreation. Pinterest is a good example of a site that caters almost entirely to this type of customer. Due to their aimless nature, it can be difficult to pin them down into an actual purchase, but they are drawn to unusual or unique items, so keep yours prominent. Another way of keeping them involves making sure that their shopping carts remain active for an extended period, making them more likely to buy if they find themselves back at your site.

Contemporary Shoppers
Online markets are constantly changing, some more quickly than others. This type of consumer is desperate to stay on top of the latest trends – common in the tech or fashion industry – and often belong to a younger demographic. They want to stay informed, so look for ways to stay up to date on their favourite industry or products. Targeted email campaigns, subscriptions and account registrations are massively effective in catering to this type of customer.

If all this seems daunting, don’t worry! Depending on your business, you will likely naturally attract greater proportions of some groups than others. The challenge is simply working out which ones those are. Don’t hesitate to call us for some friendly expert advice on 01538 750 538.