A New View of America’s Consumers: 8 Primal Shopper Typologies

Knowing who your customers are doesn’t necessarily mean that you understand them. The fundamental premise of intense segmentation is that the starting point is the same. We begin with all shoppers and break it down from there by considering all of the variables.

What if the presumed starting point was more complex? Using an innovative research methodology that measures “Cultureography,” we have concluded that there are eight distinct Primal Shopper Typologies.* Cultureographic research analyzes how people make decisions and why they value what they do.

The eight Primal Shopper Typologies that make up American consumers line up as follows:

Once they have discovered and embraced you, Advocates (8% of American consumers) will lobby on your behalf. They’ll go from “liking” your brand to getting their friends to do the same, but they’re equally likely to speak out against you if you fail them in even the slightest way.

In the traditional sense, Conventionals (9%) follow rules and aspire appropriately. They not only need rules to follow, they also need to see that everyone else is following those rules.

Sophisticates (10%) are the shoppers who are willing to pay a premium to have the very best. However, once you have a Sophisticate as a customer, THEY own YOU! No demand on their part is considered too great, and they’ll expect to be treated as if they were your one and only customer.

Gradualists (10%) move at their own pace and refuse to “put all their eggs in one basket.” They are interested in purchases, not relationships—you can go broke trying to improve your share of their wallet, so forget up-selling or cross-selling. And never expect a Gradualist to accept on affinity or a membership card.

Student shoppers (10%) are customers that study everything relating to every decision in great detail. They thrive on data and frequently replace action with information; think of them as “perpetual ponderers” who are more likely to read your literature than buy your product or service.

Mechanists (17%) work the system—they’ll actively pursue every advantage in everything you do. A typical Mechanist shopper will take the time to notice the lack of appropriate small print in your “Buy One, Get One FREE” offer and insist on a full refund on item “A” while fully intending on keeping item “B.” To keep them interested you need to give them something to discover—over and over again.

In spite of the fact, that they may not actually have it, money is no object for Indulgent shoppers (18%) who spare no expense in buying what gives them the greatest personal pleasure—often at the expense of other facets of their lives. Consider the owner of a used, 36-foot yacht who lives in a 900-square-foot home; he behaves as if he’s affluent, when in reality he’s not. Indulgents are most likely to accept credit and least likely to make the payments in the long run.

And, finally, there are the Caretakers (18%). These shoppers are out to keep things from getting worse but not to make them better. In the home remodeling sector, they’ll tend to what’s broken and necessary, but nothing more. They’ll replace and repair only when unavoidable, and if they can get by without making a purchase, they will.

*Based on original research encompassing more than 25,000 respondents.