Here's an e-commerce acid test: Which kind of online shopper accounts for more than half of all Net transactions?
Bargain hunters,
Convenience fanatics, or
Sports enthusiasts?
New research identifies six distinct categories of people who shop online.
Not surprisingly, some segments are far more lucrative than others. Although many shoppers are likely to demonstrate characteristics of more than one group, data suggests consumer shopping sites that fail to make customer convenience a top priority are at grave risk.
According to eMarketer's e-stats service, Net buyers are expected to spend an average of $1,033 a year by 2002. Click for more.
Only a few survive
So what's an online shopping site to do?
First, know what kind of customer you want to target. Click for more.
Next, win them over by giving them more of what they really want.
The six e-shopping types
According to a new study from Media Metrix and consulting firm McKinsey, every online consumer falls into one of the following categories:
Simplifiers: Impatient but lucrative, these Net users spend just seven hours a month online -- yet account for half of all Internet transactions. What they like: Convenient and direct Internet shopping. How to win them over: Provide "end-to-end convenience." Prove they will save time by buying at your site.
Surfers: Consummate browsers, they spend 32 percent of all time online -- and look at four times more pages than other users What they like: New features and content How to win them over: Constantly update your site.
Connectors: New to the Internet and less likely to shop online. What they like: Brick-and-mortar brands they know. How to win them over: Emphasize affiliations with a strong offline brands; offer chat rooms and free greetings cards.
Routine followers: They are information addicts who use the Net mainly for the information it provides. What they like: News and financial sites. How to win them over: Emphasize news, be first with new information and offer real-time stock quotes.
Sportsters: These are sports enthusiasts, who live for the next score. What they like: Visiting sports and entertainment sites. How to win them over: Supply updated sports and celebrity information, and help them connect with other fans.
Grim prediction
Which online shopping sites do you think will be among the 2 to 5 percent to survive?
However, recent research suggests most retail sites are failing to impress their customers, suggesting that only a few outstanding sites will capture most of the revenue. Consider that: 88 percent of online consumers abandoned their online shopping carts at least once during the 1999 holiday season (according to Andersen Consulting).
62 percent of retail sites failed to turn a profit last year (Boston Consulting Group).
7 percent of online shoppers say their online buying will decrease this year (Angus Reid Group).
Gartner Group CEO Michael Fleisher recently predicted that 95 to 98 percent of dotcom companies will fail in the next two years.
