Just like snowflakes, no two people are alike. That goes not just for our physical appearances, but also how we are absolutely different in our acts, thought process, and behavior. Consider shopping, for example. You might be the kinds to buy ten different shades of a nail enamel for different occasions. However, your friend could be the kinds to go with only the basic shades every time. Or you could be someone who doesn’t mind buying expensive brands for the high quality they offer and she could be someone who would rather prefer quantity over quality. The type of shoppers are way too many!
No two buyers will ever base their buying decision on the same parameters. Therefore, you can’t go with a ‘one tactic fits all’ approach for converting them. To begin making more sales and narrow the wide gap between footfall and conversions, you need to start with understanding who your shoppers really are, what they are looking for and what will nudge them to make a purchase.
To help you get started, we are covering a few common shopper types that you may encounter, alongside practical actionables to convince them better and convert them into customers in no time.
Type of shoppers your Shopify store gets
The deal and bargain hunters
Nothing works quite like a discount or freebie to draw in shoppers. Research has it that a whopping 97% of people look for a deal while shopping. To add to that, some people specifically wait for a discount, price slash, or holiday sale before they go out to make a purchase.
Brand loyalty isn’t found in their dictionaries.
These are the bargain hunters. They will comb the Internet for coupon websites just to get a few dollars off on the product that they want to purchase from your store. They will not hesitate spending hours on comparing prices across multiple websites or checking if any of the websites are running a discount or giving away a freebie on the purchase. They eagerly wait for every newsletter announcing Post Holiday Clearance Sale just to get the lowest possible price on your products.
Tip to convert the bargain hunters: You don’t have to go all the way out to engage in a price-slash war with your competitors to keep the deal hunters coming back to you.
It would be wise though to understand how discounts can be used to increase your average order value. What if instead of offering a 10% discount on a single product, you give them a 15% off on a bundle pack of three products?
This way, you let them get a kick out of getting a super saving deal. And at the same time, you also manage to increase the average order value.
To make it interesting and more engaging for these shoppers, use gamification. You can implement a gamified popup using WooHoo to offer multiple discounts and also engage them for longer on the website. Here’s how Ikonick did it:
The instant buyer
Some of your visitors already know what they want to buy. They’ll not meander to categories, and will settle for a direct search.
Without wasting a single minute, they’ll add their requirements to the cart and checkout. Great! Isn’t it? Absolutely.
However, all that these shoppers care for is convenience. Any snags in your onsite search or checkout process will put them off. They’ll abandon the idea of making a purchase even before you know what happened!
Tip to convert instant buyers: Convenience is the key to convert instant buyers. You need to give them a straight, hassle-free route to checkout.
Let’s give you two examples.
Don’t have a ‘cash on delivery’ option? Chances are you might lose out on these high-intent shoppers because you aren’t providing their favorite payment option. They want to buy ‘now’. Facilitate and offer as many payment modes as you can. Here’s an example from Myntra.
Need more information about the shopper? Lengthy, friction-filled registration forms are a complete no-no. Provide a guest checkout or social login option to reduce the number of steps to checkout and implement other strategies like surveys to get to know them better.
The brand buffs
Some people equate the brand with quality, and so will only buy from renowned brands – those that they can trust.
In fact, 55% of shoppers strictly purchase from brands rather than from retailers. Most of them stick with select brands that they hold high regard for. Price is the least of their concerns.
Say, if a person uses only Sephora’s cosmetics, they would hardly care much about the product deals from Body Shop. They might not even try hyped, local brands as they will perceive them to be low quality, poor products.
Tip to convert the brand buffs: Take note of what these shoppers like and their purchase behavior. Then, curate and promote products from their favorite brands through channels that are hard to miss.
For instance, send web push notifications to alert them about new additions in those brands. Or, send out newsletters keeping them well informed about seasonal offers that are running on them.
Also read: Turn millennial shoppers into customers with on-site eCommerce conversion optimization
The price-sensitive buyers
The term ‘price-sensitive’ can easily be confused with deal hunters. However, there is a major point of difference.
Unlike deal hunters, the price-sensitive customers might not necessarily be looking for the cheapest products or deals. Instead, they are looking to get the most value out of each penny spent.
Influencing them to purchase might seem time-consuming and challenging because they pay considerable thought and time trying to justify their spend. In simple terms, to convert the price-sensitive shopper you will need to justify the cost of the product, clearly.
Tip to convert the price-sensitive buyers: The trick is to divert their attention from price to the benefits of the product that they are considering to purchase.
Share ample resources like guides and video demos to walk these customers through the various benefits of a product.
Selling bamboo bedding? Create engaging videos, infographics, product manuals, etc. to illustrate its numerous benefits.
If women in their late 40s are your target audience, talk about how bamboo bedding can be useful for keeping hot flashes at bay during menopause.
The ‘latest on the list’ lovers
There are folks who wait for all-year-round for the latest product/version to drop so that they don’t miss owning the shiny, new things. From the trendiest smartphones in the market to the most advanced fitness equipment to the latest anti-blemish cream – these shoppers are obsessed with being the first to own everything.
They take very little time to replace something that they might have bought just a couple of months ago just so they have the most upgraded version.
The industries that are filled the most with shoppers of this nature are fashion, technology, and the beauty industry.
These shoppers love the idea of always being updated with the newest trends and products. What’s great about them is that these early birds also tend to be socially active and love to flaunt their favorite purchases on Instagram and other social channels, which can win you many more visits in a short time.
Tip to convert the latest product/launch lovers: Timely notifications on ‘fresh in stock’ or ‘latest trends’ can get you a high click-through as well as the conversion rate from these shoppers.
Targeted emails and a message on the Facebook Messenger are also good tactics to keep them engaged. However, just be sure you are not sending them outdated content or products. Otherwise, be ready to hit their spam box!
Wrapping it up
Once you know the pulse of your customer, it becomes easier and more rewarding to tailor your marketing strategy and messaging in order to land more conversions from each type.
While in this post, we cover the different types of shoppers and how you can seal the deal with them, there’s a lot more you need to do to turn shoppers into customers. Know about another kind of shopper that we missed? Do tell us all about them and how you converted them, in the comments below!
