A Guide To The Different Types Of Customers In Retail

Every retail store deals with a wide array of customers every day, all with their own unique reasons for entering the store. To more effectively handle different customers, it is important to identify and understand the different customer types. This article will outline some of the key qualities of these customer types and discuss how your retail store can benefit from its presence in-store.

1. The Well-Informed Shopper

The well-informed shopper is a consumer that does a good amount of research on a product or service before finalising a purchase. This usually means that they are well-versed with what they are looking for when buying, so don’t require much help in terms of finding what they need.

The best way to interact with the well-informed shopper is to interact with them while they’re still performing research. This can be achieved by making your store more visible online and offering useful information that they can use to make informed purchasing decisions. Provide them with information about your store, the products on offer and make it easily available for them to find online. There are many great online marketing tips that retail businesses can make the most out of, such as social media engagement, video marketing and many other ways that can help them to make themselves known online. 

2. The Showroomer

The showroomer is a customer type that likes to take the time to inspect goods or services in-store before finding a better deal online. These customers normally use price comparison applications while in-store to hunt down the best prices.

In many cases, converting a showroomer into a paying customer might require price-matching on products. This is really useful if you can afford to do it, but if you are a smaller retail business then it might be difficult, particularly if you are running on paper-thin profit margins, so it can be beneficial to be negotiable as a small business at times to gain more customers in the long haul.

3. The Indecisive Shopper

Indecisive shoppers aren’t quite sure what they are looking for and might find all of the choices available to them overwhelming. They may also simply lack all of the information they need to effectively decide on what product or service suits their needs best.

The indecisive shopper is an excellent opportunity to convert a potential customer into an active customer. Speak with them about what they are looking for and find out what they really need out of the product or service. You can help them understand what should work best for their needs and guide them towards an in-store product in a supportive way, rather than using sales tactics.

No matter what customer type you are dealing with, it is important that you can provide a service or product that suits their needs, which includes their budget. 

4. The Wanderer

The wanderer is the quintessential window-shopper, they often have no intention of buying the products or services but are just having a look. It is still important to acknowledge these customer types because there is a chance that they could purchase something, but more often than not they really are just browsing.

The best approach when handling the wanderer is to give them sufficient room to browse, be friendly and amicable with them and possibly point them towards new sales or offers. Perhaps they were enticed into your store by your window display, so using your retail window display to guide the wanderer to offers or new sale items that might help to encourage a sale.

5. The Chatty Customer

Chatty retail customers can bring a lot of positive energy into a store, but they do risk distracting staff from helping other shoppers. You should acknowledge the chatty customer but try not to get pulled into an in-depth conversation with them. If you do find yourself falling deep into a conversation with a chatty customer, gently remind them that you have work to do in-store.

In terms of making a sale out of a chatty customer, there is definitely a chance that they will make a purchase so it is worth letting them know about new offers. Just don’t fall into the trap of talking to them at length about the products!

6. The Regular Customer

The regular customer is the ideal customer for most stores as they are keen to purchase directly from your store already. Regulars have clearly found something they like about your store, otherwise, they wouldn’t be coming back, so you can focus on making them feel valued when they are in-store.

You won’t need to do too much to make a sale out of these customers as they are already in-store looking to buy. Try instead to reinforce their decision by making them feel welcomed and reinforcing their decision to shop with you.