Consumer types. Learn about the types and characteristics
6 min read
If knowledge is power, you can imagine how well-positioned your company would be by knowing the types of consumers, what and where they consume?
Once you know your audience, you learn to identify their buying habits and behaviors, thus gaining the power to influence the population's purchasing decisions through strategies and actions directed at them. The population's buying habits are often influenced by certain factors that become characteristic, forming different types of consumers.
Consumer types in online panels
The online panel is an excellent tool that allows you to better understand consumer types and obtain information on buying habits, through data provided directly by them. Our intention is for you to learn everything now about the different types of consumers and their characteristics, in order to improve your audience's shopping experience, retaining your customers and gaining a larger market share.
All about consumer panels and how important they are for your business
Consumer types
Below we list the 5 most important consumer types whose buying behavior you should know.
Initiator – The consumer known as the initiator is the person who has the first contact with the brand, whether through advertising, viewing a product in a display window, or seeing it being used by another person. At first glance, the initiator will make the
association of the product or service with the brand, and in some way will convey the information to other people who may be potential audiences.
Influencer – The influencer consumer type may also have been the initiator, or not, what matters is that the influencer will receive the information and form an opinion that will directly or indirectly influence the public's purchasing decision. Currently, being an influencer has become a profession; people with access to mass media use their popularity to influence the population's purchasing decisions and are compensated for such action.
Decider – The decider, even if it doesn't seem so when analyzing current buying habits, is the consumer type who has the most power regarding the act of purchase, since after all the information received, they are the one who will analyze and make the final purchasing decision. This consumer, before making the decision, may analyze characteristics such as the functionality of the product or service, values, durability, popularity, and various other characteristics, depending on what is most important to them at the moment.
Buyer – The person who buys is not always the end customer. The buyer is the one who has the monetary power to pay for the product or service. In this case, the buyer may not even be aware of the product or its characteristics, but merely trust the purchasing decision of the other consumer types who influenced the act of purchase until then. Basically, the buyer is the one who pays for the product, whether they will use it or not.
User – This type of consumer may not even have participated in the previous purchasing stages, but is the one who will use the product. Some examples of consumers who exclusively use the product without influencing the purchase are
babies, for example, or a student who uses internet at college but doesn't even know the provider company, among countless other examples.
Similarly, the user could be the person who went through all the stages, without much direct influence from other people, like someone passing by a display window and seeing a product of a style and brand never seen before and making the purchase decision at that very moment.
See more about Online Panel Types and how to apply them to your project
This entire purchasing process depends on the individual characteristics of each consumer, which are diverse, even if some are more popular. A strong and effective sales strategy always considers all types of consumers and works each stage of the strategy thinking about them individually.
Consumer characteristics
Knowing the characteristics of consumer types will help you work on strategies and projects that will enable you to reach your audience effectively and intelligently, ensuring success in all your commercial objectives. Each consumer type has its own individual characteristics that will directly influence their purchasing decision.
Analytical consumer
This is the type that analyzes the characteristics of the product or service in question and what best they will receive upon acquiring it. This type of consumer's analysis can be based on functionality, durability, price, popularity, etc.
Impulsive consumer
Unlike analytical consumer types, the impulsive type buys based on emotion, without many specific criteria, other than the desire to buy that product at that moment. This consumer can be easily swayed by advertisements or celebrity influencers, once the action sparks the emotion that leads to the purchase.
Opportunistic consumer
This is the type of consumer who buys due to offers and promotions, which is a well-known strategy widely used by the advertising industry. This type of consumer is always on the lookout for promotions and sales months, whether due to season, off-season, etc.
Ambitious consumer
These are types of consumers who generally desire products that are not within their financial reality, which does not mean that, with organization and planning, they cannot acquire the desired product. The ambitious consumer can become impulsive or opportunistic to achieve their goal, but not before filling a virtual store cart with products and not finalizing the purchase.
Habitual consumer
This is the one who always takes a stroll through preferred stores and places, in order to find a good buying opportunity, whether for the price or even for finding something that catches their attention. Habitual consumers are not necessarily loyal to your brand, but they are potential to be.
Plural consumer
The plural consumer is always looking for new things to try and compare. They are not loyal to brands or products, but rather to the functionalities and cost-benefit that the product or service offers. They can be an influencer, as they generally have a lot of consumed experience to give an opinion.
Loyal consumer
This is the type of consumer everyone wants. They are loyal to your brand and products and consequently, influence and give positive opinions about their favorite brands. The loyal consumer is generally attracted by a set of characteristics such as cost-benefit, quality, popularity, and exclusivity that the brand offers.
Fast fashion consumer
Similar to the compulsive consumer type, the fast fashion consumer is always looking for products that are currently in style, without analyzing values or product quality, which are usually worn few times and easily discarded. They have an enormous product turnover, so they do not deeply know any brand and are not loyal to any of them.
Conscious consumer
Conscious consumer types have buying habits contrary to fast fashion. This type of consumer analyzes various characteristics of a product before buying it, such as durability, environmental impact, product origin, production methods, and other characteristics that generally have a direct impact on the planet. These consumers often seek alternative means of shopping and are part of a new generation of buyers who are increasingly becoming an important part of the contemporary market.
Also learn about the Shopper Panel. Types of panels and advantages
The best way to deeply understand and classify consumer types, aiming to improve their shopping experiences, is through a consumer panel, which, in addition to being a direct communication channel with your audience, is an effective and economical strategy to definitively use in your company.
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