When should marketers be targeting shoppers looking for a bargain? Do impulsive shoppers spend enough with brands to make attracting them worth it? How long are today’s modern shoppers spending researching their options before committing to buy?

Rakuten Marketing’s latest report – 2017 Shopper Profiles – answers all of these questions and more.

After extensive data analysis from across our global network, we’ve identified the shopping behaviours that will shape fashion, luxury, beauty and travel purchases this year and beyond.

The report reveals four profiles that highlight digital purchasing patterns of modern consumers. It also shows how marketers in the UK, US and Australia can adapt their strategies to attract and engage these all important potential customers.

Here are some of the key behaviours we uncovered for our four shopper profiles.

Discount dependents

Although these shoppers are most active during November – the month of Black Friday and the run up to Christmas – they are actually relatively consistent in their purchase behaviour. For example, average spend only reduces by a maximum of 8% by the ninth order – a decisive moment at which other shoppers significantly decrease their spend.

This suggests that their budget actually remains fairly static, even when there are promotional offers and discounts. These shoppers often know what they want, and wait until they can find it at the right price before parting with their cash.

Luxury loyalists

Luxury shoppers, often recognised by their higher disposable income, increase their average spend per visit by 11% on average over the course of the first five purchases. Therefore, marketers must focus on encouraging these valuable shoppers to return to them again and again. This is a pertinent problem in the UK, where 91% of luxury shoppers will purchase from a luxury brand only once.

Impulse-led

Similar to luxury loyalists, this profile presents the opportunity to increase customer lifetime value. These impulsive shoppers usually have no brand loyalty but offer promising returns if they can be brought on-side. If they can be convinced to stay loyal to a brand, UK impulse-led shoppers will increase the value per order by a staggering 83% over eight purchases.

Couch converters

Typified by their need to convert quickly, these shoppers look for direction from brands as to what to buy and where to buy it. Often assumed to convert on the device that is most convenient – their smartphones – mobile conversion from click-through still takes an average of 27 hours. That said, couch converters spend 44% less time researching a purchase on their tablet than they do on their mobile. A multi-channel approach is crucial to ensure these shoppers have the information they need at the tip of their fingers to convince them to buy.

Key themes

Across all profiles, two key themes shine through.

Firstly, we discovered that our data challenges preconceptions of how these consumers behave. Thinking of shoppers in terms of their age, gender and job is no longer effective enough. Instead, marketers must adopt a more informed, data-led approach to defining their core audiences and how to reach them.

Secondly, across all profiles, the lengthening research and consideration phase to digital purchases is evident. This opportunity means retailers must make sure they deliver a wholly consistent, rich online experience that encourages them towards the point of sale.

As a result, brands need a strong multi-channel approach, factoring in critical elements of programmatic advertising and affiliate marketing as second nature.

To find out more about our individual shopper profiles, download Rakuten Marketing’s report now.