6 Types of eCommerce Buyer Personas to Build

All successful eCommerce businesses have a solid understanding of their audiences. If you don’t know who to target with your marketing and sales efforts, you won’t have an easy time connecting, let alone converting.

One of the best ways to identify any target audience is to build buyer personas. Every type of business has certain types of buyer personas, or hypothetical customers, who are best to target with ads and other content.

Here we’ll break down some of the common buyer personas in the eCommerce industry and how to target them.

What Exactly Are Buyer Personas?

Buyer personas are fictional, in-depth examples of specific customer types. You can develop buyer personas based on data you collect about prospective or existing customers, along with general market research.

Each persona will identify a specific audience segment based on a number of factors. These factors may include demographics such as age, gender, occupation, and lifestyle. You might also look at psychographics, which can help predict the customer’s behaviors.

Using these personas, you can determine what type of messaging, visuals, and other elements will resonate with them. You’ll then be able to optimize your efforts accordingly.

6 Popular Types of eCommerce Buyer Personas

In the eCommerce industry, there are a few critical buyer personas to understand and target. The following are six of the most common and beneficial to pursue.

1. The Value Seeker

This type of customer wants to get the best value for their purchase. They’ll search for the best products at the best prices. They’ll also avoid purchasing any products that don’t appear worth the cost.

When targeting these customers, there are several steps you can take. One is to offer a sale, discount, or coupon. You should also ensure your value proposition is engaging enough to convince the Value Seeker to turn to you over less persuasive competitors.

2. The Mobile Buyer

A growing number of eCommerce customers are shopping on mobile devices of all types, which offer more convenience than computers. These shoppers can make purchases on the go, often more compulsively. However, they want an easy and painless shopping experience from merchants.

If you want to connect with the Mobile Buyer, you need to ensure your mobile eCommerce experience is seamless and efficient. Try to include as few steps as possible to allow for faster checkout. Your eCommerce website should also be mobile-responsive and optimized for mobile users specifically. At some point, you may also want to develop and release a mobile app that makes the mobile buying experience even more convenient.

3. The Last-Minute Buyer

This persona may have some overlap with the Mobile Buyer, as many of these shoppers are also mobile users. Oftentimes, the Last-Minute Buyer will use mobile devices to browse eCommerce stores and products anytime, anywhere. If the checkout process is complicated, they might not feel as inclined to complete their purchase if they can easily complete it at another time. The mobile experience can also lead to many distractions that momentarily deter the buyer.

You can recapture these shoppers by generating fear of missing out (FOMO), particularly by imbuing a sense of urgency to encourage them to complete the checkout process. For example, you can let people know that “this is your last chance” to take advantage of a particular discount or checkout items before the offer or coupon expires.

4. The Social Media User

Many eCommerce shoppers are also heavy social media users or even influencers. These individuals often look for the best products and are eager to share them with their followers, family, or friends. If you can convert these buyers into customers, you’ll be able to turn them into brand ambassadors and get more word-of-mouth advertising.

You can appeal to these users by selling top-quality products that stand out, along with other perks that leave them truly impressed. Additionally, you can make it easy for customers to talk about you with social media sharing tools.

5. The Researcher

Researchers, as their name would suggest, conduct a lot of research before committing to a purchase. They want to find the right products for them based on their specific needs, from the different features your products include to the price point.

To aid these customers in their research, give them plenty of touchpoints to drive conversion. For example, you should accumulate plenty of positive customer reviews and ratings on your website or on platforms like Amazon. You should also be as descriptive as possible about your products and features.

If you can include all of the information your customers are looking for in the research phase, this will help earn shoppers’ trust and help them along the buyer’s journey.

6. The Gift-Buyer

Many eCommerce customers spend time shopping for gifts for friends and loved ones. These may include your products if they bring value as solid gifts.

To cater to Gift-Buyers, you should make sure the gift brings value to both the buyer and the recipient. Use different incentives to encourage gifters, which may include promotions and savings, gift guides, and gift wrapping.

Use Buyer Personas to Reach Your Ideal Customers

As you build your buyer personas, keep these examples and others in mind to help you identify the most valuable audiences. With the help of fully fleshed-out buyer personas, you’ll have the ability to gear your marketing and other strategies to speak more directly to prospective customers.

For more guidance to help your eCommerce business excel, connect with the experts at Gray Growth Logistics today.