Retail Sales Training - Types of Shoppers

In this weekends newspaper, I read an interesting article about 6 different types of shoppers. Here is a quick overview of them:

The Return Artist
This person buys things to feel good. When she gets home she realizes she doesn't need the items so she brings them back.

The Ditherer
This individual has a difficult time making up his mind for a variety of reasons. Sometimes he is concerned he is paying too much, or he is afraid of making a poor buying decision.

The Impulsive
As the name suggests, this person makes impulse buying decisions, and not only for minor purchases. They may not need the item but they have a difficult time saying no.

The Tire Kicker
We've all experienced this person. Shopping is the hobby for this person, not the act of buying. She will try on designer clothes and test drive a luxury vehicle but have no intention of making a buying decision.

The Anti-Shopper
This person thinks shopping is trivial, frivolous and a waste of time. They typically enter a store with the intent to buy a specific item(s) and will not usually buy additional products.

The Junk Junkie
This individual is obsessed with sales and love the art of the deal. . They often shop in secondhand stores, seldoming pay full price for items.

As retailers, it is important to recognize each type of shopper and adapt your approach accordingly in order to get the most from each shopper. I haven't done much research in this area yet, but I have learned a thing or two about selling to different genders and have outlined these strategies in my book.

Source: Toronto Star, Saturday November 11, 2006

Cheers!
Kelley