Opinion: Understanding consumer shopping types and responding in product design and communication

Recent research from Tiendeo has clustered consumers in 7 different groups in terms of their attitude to shopping:

• The Omnichannel buyer is a bargain hunter, spending their time hovering between digital and printed media to spot the best deals
• For the Practical buyer, the shopping act is just to satisfy basic needs. Only going to shops when necessary, not wasting money on non-essential goods. While they may respond to promotions, they prefer basic and simple communication about offers
• The Virtual buyer views everything through the lens of their smartphone. Having rejected all print communication, these people are curious, lured by technology, well informed and forward looking
• The Fashion buyer is obsessed with the latest trends in style and sophistication, regardless of practical use. These people are easily influenced and feel a need to impress others.
• The Sustainability buyer is obsessed with their ecological foot-print. They will examine supply chains to investigate the impact on the environment of products they are considering, pay attention to certification and packaging sustainability. These are well informed people, eco-minded and care about health. Vegans and  vegetarians are part of this group
• The Compulsive buyer makes purchases to feel good, is emotionally driven and acts on impulse, making many unplanned purchases. They may often regret past purchases as a consequence of putting pressure on their spending budgets
• Last but not the least come the Traditional buyers. They act based on routine behaviours, are brand loyalists, tend to buy local and prefer direct contact with the retailer and happy to be influenced by advice.

But let’s not forget that buying behaviour is not always consistent in every circumstance: one can act like a compulsive buyer for some categories and an omnichannel buyer for others.

Analysing consumer clusters should influence everything from product design to packaging, promotion or communication. How do these clusters constrain your product and how can you influence consumer perceptions through the marketing mix? And how can you appeal simultaneously to different clusters, from the ingredients used to packaging, communication or promotions? Proper research is key: from positioning to implementation strategies and tactics.

Also bear in mind these clusters are influenced by today’s contexts, namely

• The huge implications from the exiting pandemic situation
• Post pandemic surge in consumption combined with raw material shortages and disruptions are likely to push inflation to levels we have not been used to

Both will determine future consumers’ perceptions, attitudes and behaviour towards shopping and consumption criteria.