With eCommerce, as with all things, there are consumers (shoppers). What makes eCommerce shoppers different, is that there are at least 4 different types of them. In this post, we are going to talk about these shoppers, and the best way to target them. We’ll also talk about the one shopper that you should avoid at all costs. These shopper categories cover all the major consumer demographics.
So let’s jump straight into the story.
1) The “I’m just here to browse, but if I could I would totally spend” shopper:
We all know the type, because odds are – we have all been this shopper at some point, and likely will continue to be so. Look, money is a finite resource, so we can’t all buy everything that we want exactly when we want it. But did you know there are some revolutionary new companies which help shoppers finance that dream purchase of theirs – in real time?
With consumer-loan financing from companies such as Affirm, Bread, and SplitIt, shoppers can easily break up large purchases into small monthly payments – without maxing out their credit lines – both online and in store! This is really important because according to a survey performed by the Baymard Institute:
- 23% of shopper abandon when they can’t see the total cost upfront.
- 19% of shoppers abandoned because they didn’t trust the site with their credit card information.
- 8% of shoppers abandon because there weren’t enough payment methods.
So we can clearly see the importance of offering flexible payment options to our shoppers. Especially because the companies we mentioned earlier act as a conduit for completing purchases between shoppers and merchants.
2) The “I buy only what I’m interested in” shopper:
We all have that friend or family member who, upon entering a store (or website) makes a beeline for the aisle or section where what they want is located. They don’t even look at other items. This isn’t done strictly out of a desire to remain frugal – it’s probably because they have a hard time with change – and that’s fine. Freedom means buying what you like, right?
But that doesn’t mean they can’t be persuaded to add something interesting to their carts. This is where product recommendations come in. You can use these recommendations to serve up similar items. So let’s say this shopper only buys green knee-high socks from one particular company. Well, you might not be able to get them to buy socks in a different color, but you can get them to buy the same style from a different company.
3) The “Shop-till-you-drop” shopper:
Growing up, you probably had that one friend whose mother had an endless collection of catalogs from JCPenney, L.L. Bean, and Macy’s stacked a mile high in their living room (and you had MAD Magazine if you were lucky). Somehow, your friend’s house looked like the inside of a department store.
These shoppers are the best from a revenue standpoint because their repeat business is almost guaranteed – I say “almost” because if they are not inundated with post-purchase “Thank You” emails, and special offers, they will leave you for the next person who smiles their way while holding a glossy catalog. This is especially true in today’s world of online shopping.
4) The “But how can I be sure it will fit” shopper:
Ok, this one is a tough nut to crack – but with a commitment to good service, it shouldn’t be a problem. One of the unique issues with selling clothes online is that of the fit – people are hesitant to buy because they just don’t know if it will be worth their time. Worse yet, if they have to scan your website for your return policy, you will lose sales, no questions asked, and no amount of cart-abandonment technology can fix this issue. So what can you do about it?
- If you don’t already have a return/exchange policy in place, come up with one that works for shoppers. Yes, it’s not easy, but shoppers who feel they can return items are more likely to complete purchases. In a recent survey, 20% of shoppers cited “Easy Returns” as a key reason they don’t shop online.
- The above should be made visible on the product page in an area shoppers will notice it.
- It should also include a customer service line, email address, or another form of direct communication with your customer service/sales representatives. Shoppers have questions and concerns. So help ease them out.
- If you can avoid charging a restocking fee, or return S&H fee, that goes a long way towards customer commitment. It’s so important, that now Amazon requires sellers to offer free returns.
Inevitably, there are going to be those shoppers who feel the need to abuse return policies – but a well managed CRM will help you mitigate the effects of that happening.
-1) Finally: The “lives in a place without internet” shopper:
Who lives in a pineapple under the sea? If you answered “Sasquatch” you guessed incorrectly, and Nickelodeon would like to have a word with you.
But what do Sasquatch, The Yeti, SpongeBob, and Chupacabra have to do with online shopping?
They are all imaginary – therefore, they don’t shop online. The point is, don’t worry about the people you can’t reach today – that’s not to belittle those without internet access – they are going to be tomorrow’s customers, and you will be able to sell your products to them when the time comes.
In Summary:
Speaking of all of these different types of shoppers, what if there was a way for an eCommerce business to segment them into unique groups for retargeting across omnichannel campaigns? Wouldn’t that be super nifty? What if there was an eCommerce platform that offered such an innovative and unique solution, maybe they would call it “Shopper Segmentation?”
Well, it turns out that, Datacrushers offers exactly that. Check it out by flicking on the link here. Yes, that’s right – I said “Flicking” and not “Clicking”. It’s 2018 – I’m the captain now, and we flick on links.
Datacrushers
Founded in 2015, Datacrushers uses Machine Learning and A.I. along with NLP to identify and recover revenue loss, cart abandonment and discover new revenue sources across any site. The revenue discovery platform completes the deep ongoing analysis of eCommerce websites by monitoring the three main focal points of any site: The User, Site, and Product.
Unlike traditional “cart abandonment platforms,” Datacrushers does not require shoppers and customers to be logged-in to conduct both on and offsite campaigns. We use a wide range of data-driven and analytics based conversion tools to target the shopper at the right time with the most accurate and effective campaign to drive the sale.
Datacrushers is platform, language, and currency agnostic and requires only a few lines of code to get started therefore delivering an ultra-fast go-to-market with minimal set-up time and tech intervention.
Based out of Jerusalem, Israel, Datacrushers has clients worldwide including, The US, China, Russia, UK, Germany, and more.
