PMA 2015: Understanding why consumers make shopping decisions

Consumers can be broken down into five basic types, each with their own motivations for why they buy the things that they buy, according to a session called “Psychographics 101: Unlocking Opportunities with Consumer Insights.” By understanding these motivations, retailers can target specific groups with promotions tailored to their needs and preferences.

Self Achievers are very goal oriented. When it comes to health and wellness, this group likes to be able to measure success and progress, such as by using a health tracker like FitBit. They’re also very active on social media and like to share with their followers. Retailers would do well to reach out about new products via Facebook. Self Achievers spend disproportionately more on health and wellness than other groups and are most likely to say “Eating fresh produce is worth the extra cost.”

Balance Seekers want as much information as possible about their food, even though they may not act on that information. They have their own definition of health and wellness, which often involves feeling good rather than meeting a specific health target like a low BMI. Balance Seekers prefer organic produce more than any other group, and are most likely to say “Eating fresh produce helps reduce the risk of disease.”

Priority Jugglers can only think about one thing at a time. They are too busy to consider health and wellness in their own lives, but they do think it’s important for their families. This is a tough group to market to because they have short attention spans. Priority Jugglers are least likely to prefer organic produce or home delivery for produce.

Direction Takers want someone to tell them what product or brand to buy. They don’t need a lot of information as long as it comes from what they feel is a credible source. This group is fairly small and tends to skew older.

Willful Endurers make up the largest group and are the hardest to motivate to try new things. They have a way of doing things and aren’t likely to change. Educating Willful Endurers on the benefits of a product is unlikely to influence behavior. This group would respond best to a coupon that could be used immediately. They are most likely to say “Fresh produce can be too expensive to fit in my budget” and the mostly likely to prefer home delivery for produce.

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