Overall Analysis of Online Customer (User) Types!

by seosh on 2008-02-03 08:58:50

Hello everyone, today Shanghai SEO (SWJ) came across an article online about the classification of internet user types. I thought it was pretty good, so I wanted to share it with all of you!

Researching the purchasing behavior of online shoppers is fundamental for website planners and internet marketers to improve customer service. Different researchers have different methods of studying online customer behavior, and their findings may vary accordingly. Nevertheless, understanding the main categories of online shoppers holds significant value for marketing planners in improving services more effectively.

To understand the main categories of online shoppers, one must first be familiar with the primary types of internet users.

Internet users can be categorized into the following five types:

1. **Simple-Type Internet Shoppers**:

Simple-type customers seek convenient and straightforward online shopping experiences. They spend around 7 hours a month online, yet half of that time is spent on online transactions. Retailers must provide this group with genuine convenience, making them feel that purchasing goods on commercial websites will save more time.

2. **Surfer-Type Internet Shoppers**:

Surfer-type customers account for 8% of regular internet users but consume 32% of the total time spent online. Moreover, they visit four times as many web pages as other users. These surfers are particularly interested in websites that are frequently updated and feature innovative designs.

3. **Access-Type Internet Shoppers**:

Access-type users are newcomers to the internet, comprising 36% of the total population. They rarely shop online but prefer chatting and sending free greeting cards. Companies with well-known traditional brands should pay close attention to this group because new internet users tend to trust familiar brands from their everyday lives. Social networking sites are a great example!

4. **Bargain-Hunting Type Internet Shoppers**:

Bargain hunters make up about 8% of internet users and have an instinct to buy cheaper goods. More than half of eBay's customers belong to this type. They enjoy negotiating prices and strongly desire discounts in transactions.

**In China, the leader in this category is Taobao. It’s rumored that Alibaba CEO Jack Ma's Yahoo! has been facing numerous challenges recently, while Microsoft is reportedly considering purchasing 100% of Yahoo!'s shares to acquire the company!**

5. **Regular and Entertainment-Oriented Internet Shoppers**:

Regular and entertainment-oriented internet users are typically attracted by website content. Regular users often visit news and business websites, while entertainment-oriented users favor sports and entertainment sites.

Currently, the challenge for online businesses is how to attract more users, retain them, and strive to convert website visitors into consumers. This boils down to conversion rate issues, which also represent one of the hardest barriers to overcome.

This article is reprinted from: Shanghai SEO http://www.seo-sh.cn/ch/257.html