Nothing haunts us like the things we didn't buy!

The Shopaholic Fever: What Kind of a Shopper are You??

I'm going to start this blog post with a confession, I'm a full-fledged shopaholic! You can call me vain, conceited, self-absorbed even, but that's not going to affect the happiness I draw from shopping. Online shopping is booming in India and according to studies conducted by Statista, a statistics portal, close to 329.1 million Indians are expected to shop online by the year 2020. This development translates into a greater convenience for shopaholics like me. With online portals becoming so important for the processes of marketing and selling, it becomes crucial for us to understand the different personas online consumers assume while shopping. 

Online shoppers display different types of personalities while indulging in this guilty pleasure. I'm starting off by analyzing my own online shopping behavior and scrutinizing some of the personalities that I assume while shopping.

The Wish lister:

A wish lister is someone who wants it all! This person fantasizes about owning all that he/ she sets his/her eyes upon. I most definitely fall into this category. Regardless of the fact that I'm shopping for just one dress, I find myself adding more than a dozen dresses to my shopping cart. I spend days adding and removing these dresses to and from my cart until I finally settle for one. I find myself doing this more often during a sale. I'll admit, this behavior is most probably a result of my choosiness and greed.

The Rational Visitor:

A rational visitor is someone who treats a shopping experience as a calculated decision. He/She needs as much information regarding the product as possible in order to make a buying decision. I have come to realize that my behavior as an online shopper also largely depends on the product that I'm shopping for. While shopping for electronic goods I definitely fall into this behavioral category. I recently bought a mobile phone after a month of rigorous research about the brand and the various costumer reviews regarding the phone. I'm not sure if the motivator behind this move was the fact that it was a big purchase or the fact that I bought the phone with my own pocket money. 

The Maximizer:

A maximizer is someone who wants to simply make the best choice. He/She will not buy a product unless they are sure that they have arrived at the best choice. I contemplate for days about the worthiness and the usefulness of the product that I wish to buy. I compare products and even wait for seasonal sales to get better deals on the products I desire to buy. I have exhibited this behavior while making purchases across product categories and can proudly say that I'm a careful buyer.

While I easily associate with these costumer behaviors, there are some personalities that I personally do not associate with, such as that of a brand-oriented visitor. A brand-oriented visitor is someone who is brand-loyal and someone who makes a purchase solely for the sake of the brand. I'm someone who does not buy products simply for the sake of the brand name. I'm also someone who does not blindly follow fashion trends. I buy products based on their features and utility. 

The other behavioral categories I do not associate with are that of a satisfier and a hesitator. These categories represent people who belong to two extremes. A satisfier is someone who is satisfied with the first product he/she adds to the shopping cart whereas, a hesitator is someone who is skeptical about his/her purchase even at the stage of checking-out. I definitely do not associate with these extremes. I'm a secure shopper who is confident about her purchase and also a rational shopper who contemplates her choices thoroughly before buying.

Its safe to say that these consumer behaviors have a great impact on the success of marketing or selling of a product and these behaviors should be closely analysed for the success of any marketing effort.