How do your customers view the world? What kinds of things grab their attention? What factors influence their day-to-day decisions?
Answering these questions will allow your ecommerce brand to market more effectively, improving customer acquisition and retention. It can also influence other elements of your business, including product design, inventory management, and even your returns policy.
In short, understanding customer behavior matters—a lot.
If you feel like you’re in the dark when it comes to buyer behavior, don’t worry. In this article, you’ll learn what customer behavior is, why it’s important, and how you can use it to your advantage.
Customer behavior, or consumer behavior, describes how people make decisions when choosing, purchasing, using, and disposing of a product. Understanding customer behavior involves being aware of how buyers think, feel, and act, as well as what outside factors influence them. It’s all about getting to the root of why shoppers choose one brand or product over another.
Understanding customer behavior will provide major benefits to your business, allowing you to reach your target market, demonstrate the value your products provide, increase sales, and build a base of loyal customers.
People’s day-to-day decisions, including decisions about what to buy, are influenced by many internal and external factors. Let’s explore some of them.
Understanding customer buying behavior allows you to tailor your marketing strategy, product design, and pricing to resonate with your target audience.
Of course, the big-picture impact of customer behavior extends beyond operational changes. Ultimately, businesses that understand customer behavior and use it to their advantage gain an edge over the competition, engage potential buyers, and retain more loyal customers.
Interested in learning more about what motivates customers?
Check out this article: The Psychology of a Guarantee When Shopping Online..
The four main types of customer behavior are complex, dissonance-reducing, habitual, and variety-seeking.
Complex buying behavior occurs when consumers are actively involved in the purchase experience and perceive significant differences among brands. This often happens with expensive, infrequent purchases.
For example, a customer planning to buy a high-end DSLR camera might spend weeks comparing different models and brands, reading reviews, and watching videos to understand features and compare costs before making a final purchase. This allows them to make an informed choice to avoid future regrets.
Keep in mind that cost isn’t usually the main concern in a complex buying behavior situation. Instead, the customer is primarily concerned with the value the product offers.
If you sell an expensive product that might trigger complex buying behavior, consider doing the following:
Dissonance-reducing buying behavior is seen when consumers are highly involved in a purchase but see only minimal differences between brands. It often applies to moderately expensive or important purchases where the customer feels confused. Unlike complex buying behavior, dissonance-reducing behavior doesn’t necessarily involve much research. However, after purchasing, the customer may experience buyer’s remorse and seek reassurance from others.
Try the following tactics to reassure customers who may be experiencing dissonance:
Habitual buying behavior is when consumers aren’t actively involved in a purchase and see little difference between brands. This behavior is common for routine, everyday products, where customers make purchases based on habit rather than brand loyalty or detailed research.
Habitual buying behavior is driven by comfort, convenience, and familiarity.
For instance, a customer might order their usual brand of household paper towels online, barely glancing at alternatives since they’re already familiar with the quality and price of the brand they typically buy.
Attracting customers can be tricky if they’re in the habit of purchasing from another brand. To convince them to switch things up, try the following strategies:
Variety-seeking behavior happens when consumers have low involvement in the purchase decision but perceive significant brand differences. This leads them to switch brands for the sake of variety or novelty. This behavior often applies to products that aren’t high-stakes, where customers like experimenting with different options.
For example, variety-seeking behavior might look like a customer shopping for flavored coffee pods online. Because coffee pods are relatively inexpensive and quickly consumed, the customer regularly tries new brands and flavors, keeping their daily coffee experience fresh and exciting.
How can you keep customers hooked on your product when they have other options? The following ideas can help:
To understand customer behavior, you need to collect and analyze both qualitative and quantitative data. This section will explore five ways to do this.
Tracking customer actions on your ecommerce site, such as page views, time spent, and purchasing patterns, is an effective way to identify trends in behavior. This approach provides a data-backed view of what’s resonating with customers and what’s not, revealing what needs to be optimized.
Google Analytics is one of the most commonly used website analytics platforms, but many businesses also use heat mapping tools or other solutions to track on-site engagement more granularly.
Just as you should monitor actions customers take on your website, you should pay attention to sales data. Finding patterns in purchases can help you see which products are most popular, how demand has shifted, and which products customers tend to buy together.
Once you have a basic understanding of how customers interact with your website, you can begin running experiments. Using A/B testing, you can test changes in website design, product displays, or checkout processes to see how different versions impact customer behavior.
To make your experiments successful, make sure to choose clear, measurable goals and test just one variable at a time.
Market research involves gathering insights about target audiences through methods like focus groups, interviews, or online forums. It provides a direct understanding of customer attitudes, desires, and challenges. Market research can reveal deeper motivations behind customer behavior and highlight new opportunities for product or service improvements.
In addition to diving into the behavior of your current customers, it can be helpful to keep an eye on general consumer trends and preferences. By staying up-to-date on your audiences’ interests, you can more effectively cater to their wants and needs and adapt quickly to meet evolving expectations. For example, consumer trends might prompt a business to introduce a new product or experiment with a new sales channel.
Try browsing social media, following influencers, or using trend-tracking tools like Google Trends to stay informed.
Another great way to understand customer behavior is to directly ask them about their shopping experiences. By encouraging customers to leave honest feedback, you’ll uncover pain points, unmet needs, or areas for improvement.
Many businesses have success with automated post-purchase emails requesting feedback. Some provide an easy-to-find feedback button on their website or follow up after customer service interactions. You could also read reviews that customers leave on your website.
Businesses often segment customers by dividing them into groups with shared characteristics or behaviors. By segmenting customers, you can more effectively craft targeted, personalized messages that convince people to buy.
Purchase behavior segmentation involves categorizing customers based on their buying patterns, including how often they make purchases, the size of their orders, or the types of products they buy.
Analyzing these habits allows businesses to identify one-time buyers, repeat purchasers, or high-value customers who frequently make large purchases. They might then offer rewards to frequent buyers or promotions for those who only buy during sales.
When you segment customers based on the benefits they seek, you focus on understanding the main motivations behind their purchases, such as quality, convenience, or affordability. This makes it easy to align your product offerings and marketing messages with what different customer segments value most. For instance, some shoppers may prioritize eco-friendly products due to sustainability concerns, while others look for the fastest delivery options or the lowest prices. Catering to these preferences can lead to increased brand loyalty and higher satisfaction rates.
Timing or occasion-based segmentation categorizes customers by when they make purchases, whether tied to specific seasons, holidays, or significant life events. This method is highly effective for aligning marketing strategies with time-sensitive promotions and product launches. By understanding the occasions that prompt purchases, businesses can optimize their campaigns and manage inventory to meet peak demand.
Segmenting customers by brand loyalty involves identifying how committed they are to a brand. Different segments might include devoted advocates who consistently purchase and recommend products, occasional buyers who might choose different brands, and those who frequently switch based on price or availability.
Understanding brand loyalty helps businesses create more effective retention strategies, such as loyalty programs and exclusive rewards for their most dedicated customers.
Humans have such diverse perspectives and experiences that it can sometimes be difficult to measure and predict our actions. But we all have one thing in common: a need for transparency and honesty. If your business can embody these values—and prove that you’re trustworthy—you’ll see better results across the board, from acquisition to retention.
Norton Shopping Guarantee with Package Protection by EasyPost, available for Spotify and WooCommerce stores, gives merchants a simple way to build buyer confidence. Trust badges verify your site’s legitimacy from the get-go, encouraging viewers to convert. And by providing package protection, you’ll create a post-purchase experience that keeps customers coming back.
Request a demo to see how Norton Shopping Guarantee boosts trust and drives sales.