7 Types of Retail Customer (And How To Engage With Them)

Customers come in all shapes and sizes, but there are certain common customer types that we can all recognise.

Understanding these types and how to engage with them effectively through your POS, retail displays, in-store sales approach, online presence and more can help you to encourage sales.

Customer profile: Researchers have put in the hard work online beforehand and come equipped with the knowledge they need to make an informed purchase. They’re less likely to spend time browsing as they’ve already identified the product or products that they’re interested in.

Engaging with them: As these customers often make their purchasing decisions before visiting a store, you need to engage with them as effectively as possible during the research stage. Make sure that your online product information is accurate, your prices are competitive and you’ve provided answers to common questions (e.g. through FAQs).

Customer profile: Showroomers like to visit stores in order to try products on or test them out, but they’re also price-conscious and may opt to buy online rather than in person if it means better value for money. This customer type will often use money-saving or price comparison apps in order to track down the best deal.

Engaging with them: With this type of customer, it’s important to make the purchase about more than just price and to emphasise the benefits of buying in store. The immediacy of an in-store purchase is a key win here, as are any additional in-store promotions that you may be running, so make sure your POS displays are impactful.

Customer profile: Browsers lack any particular reason for being in your store and are just looking around. It could be that something in the window caught their eye or they’re simply killing time, so they’re browsing without really intending to make a purchase.

Engaging with them: These customers should generally be left to their own devices as they’re effectively sight-seeing in your store. Converting them into paying customers can be a tricky task, but encouraging impulse buys by having dump bins or baskets in strategic locations could help.

Customer profile: Customers on a mission know exactly what product they want to buy and want the transaction to go as quickly as possible. They’re not looking to spend any longer in your store than they need to and won’t appreciate any deviations from their mission.

Engaging with them: These customers are likely to appreciate appropriate signage, logical store layouts and clear POS materials so that they can locate their intended purchase as quickly as possible.

Customer profile: As the name suggests, indecisive shoppers aren’t exactly sure what they want to buy or are struggling to choose one product over another. They can often lack the information they need in order to make that decision and can be overwhelmed by the number of options available.

Engaging with them: You can help this type of shopper by providing clear and accurate information about your products, both online and in-store. Use effective POS, shelf management products and displays to make the customer journey as smooth as possible, and be on hand to answer any questions they may have.

Customer profile: Bargain hunters have one main motivation: price. They want to feel like they not only purchased a great product, but got it at a great price too. Less loyal than other customer types, they’re willing to shop around in order to track down a saving.

Engaging with them: Customers that are driven by price can be difficult to engage with unless you happen to be able to offer the cheapest deal. One tactic can be emphasising the quality of your product and therefore its longevity, which will likely save them money in the long-run. Also, make sure that any promotions you’re currently offering are clearly displayed.

Customer profile: Regular customers are loyal visitors to your store. They visit you regularly, without any specific prompting, and respond positively to your products and services.

Engaging with them: These customers are the easiest type to engage with as they’re already invested in what you have to offer. Your existing POS materials, signage and display tactics are doing their job in appealing to this customer, so continue in the same vein and look for additional opportunities to make them feel valued.