The use made by Internet users to make purchases defines the consumer profile that is. The most common profiles are the voyeur and the scavenger hunt. These two types of buyers have certain behaviors. The voyeur is characterized by obtaining information about the products and prices on the net to end up buying them in the physical store. The hunters, in addition to buying online regularly, are experts in finding the best deals online. There is a third profile, that of face-to-face defenders who barely make use of the internet to support their purchases. Due to the creation of new sales formats, the behavior of users varies and new types of buyers are created.
There are different types of online sales and therefore different behaviors by consumers. Three patterns stand out: group sales, featuring discount coupons. Sales in outlet of exclusive products or brand. Finally, traditional electronic commerce with the sale of the same products from the physical store.
In group purchases, the consumer assimilates a well-defined type of role. The user is more communicative and uses a lot of mouth-to-ear: it discloses the types of promotions of certain companies to obtain greater benefit from the purchase. There are coupons for a limited time that arouse the impulse of purchase of the user. Others, in addition to that characteristic, require a minimum of subscribers to be able to be carried out. That is why the philosophy that usually follows this type of user is that of the social group to share the information available: the more friends they know, the better.
On the contrary, the behavior of the user who frequents online outlets is totally opposite to the previous one. In this case you try to keep the offer secret so that nobody can move forward. Therefore, the buyer is characterized by a more selfish nuance. The impact of this type of sale on the network is less in terms of the number of comments circulating at the time of pre-sale.
Finally, e-commerce leads the opinions in the network, although most refer to services provided in the physical store. In this case, Internet users buy products, talk about prices, offers, customer service and treatment received, discounts or the favorite establishments of these companies in physical stores.
Due to the difficulty for a company to reach different types of consumers through the same channel, initiatives such as CiudadMarket , the reference e-commerce portal, are very successful . There are three types of offers on the platform: the online store or window with all the services and products separated by category. The long-term discount coupons. Daily promotions that are more attractive in terms of price. Within the same website there is also a social network dedicated to social shopping that allows the exchange of information between users and the direct relationship with businesses.
Low cost and social formats
According to a study by CiudadMarket, more than half of Internet users believe that the internet is the best store to do their shopping. The main advantage attributed to it is the opportunity to find better prices and offers. In addition, online commerce allows them to search more precisely and buy what best suits their needs.
Usually the buyer, with the crisis, knows that the sale is important and therefore takes more time before deciding on the purchase and that is also reflected in the network. However, trends in behavior when making an online purchase are undergoing a process of change due to social and low cost effects.
With the introduction of low cost, a good part of the purchases has become a whim, being able to access goods of big brands not strictly necessary. This type of user aims to find important discounts. Many netizens get carried away by the attractive prices, what we call “low cost aesthetics”. The biggest drawback at this point is that a lack of loyalty to a particular trade is generated. Consumers are attracted by the price, not by the business.
Regarding the social effect, consumers establish a circle of trust composed of family and friends. As customers, their attention is difficult to capture because they are not likely to receive brand emails and do not like it when a company sends them commercial messages. “The purchases of these users are guided by recommendations from their own established circle and by pages dedicated to the analysis of products and comments from other consumers,” they say from CiudadMarket, an e-commerce portal that has created its own social network to promote this information exchange