4 Holiday Shoppers You’ll Meet This Christmas Season & How to Deal with Them

Ho, ho, ho! The most wonderful time of the year, also known as the Mariah Carey season, is almost here! Prepare for the holiday shopping by getting to know who you’ll meet along the way.

Key Takeaways

• Nearly 40% of US customers say they intend to splurge for themselves or for others this holiday season.
• The 4 main types of holiday shoppers are bargain hunters, last-minute customers, impulsive shoppers and over-preparers.
• Bargain hunters are resistant to upselling and are the least loyal customer type. They follow after good deals and sales.
• Gift guides with ready-to-go gift ideas are popular with last-minute customers.
• Impulse customers are receptive to product recommendations.
• Give the over-preparers the Hallmark Christmas they want, and you’ll create loyal customers.

Meet the 4 Different Types of Holiday Shoppers

Understanding different customer types is vital to building successful holiday shopping strategies and retaining loyal customers. Proper customer segmentation is necessary to create cross-channel messaging that not only converts but resonates with potential and existing customers. You can automate your customers’ journeys by combining real-time omnichannel behaviour based on their tastes and interests.

Let’s meet the 4 different customer types you are most likely to encounter this holiday season!

1. The Bargain Hunter

Meet the Bargain Hunter: They absolutely love a good bargain. Bargain hunters play an important role when you want to destock your inventory. These types of customers rarely purchase products at full price and look around for the best discounts before deciding to buy. 

Bargain hunters are resistant to upselling, are the least loyal customer type, and leave when better deals are available.

2. The Last-Minute Shopper

Last-minute type of customers leave everything to the last minute. It might be Christmas Eve, and they will still be looking for the perfect Christmas gift. You can find them in a corner online or in-store panic-stricken.

3. The Impulsive Shopper

These types of customers don’t really have a specific Christmas shopping list at hand when they go holiday shopping. They are rather spontaneous. Second only to loyal customers as a target market, impulse shoppers represent the best customer segment for upselling. 

Additionally, impulse shoppers are usually pretty receptive to product recommendations. A company’s profitability can be improved by keeping these customers informed about new product offerings.

4. The Over-Preparer

Over-preparer type of customers love Christmas and everything that involves Christmas! Imagine those Hallmark Christmas movies. That’s them. They want the whole extended family together and the house decorated as if it’s the North Pole itself.

In terms of products and services, this traditionalist will have similar expectations each year for holiday shopping. That means if you delight them, you’ll ensure that they come back the next holiday shopping season.

How to Deal with Different Types of Customers during Holiday Shopping?

We’ve met the 4 different types of customers for the holiday shopping season. Now it’s time to learn how to deal with them. Get your free Christmas ebook to learn how to tailor the journeys of these customers to increase customer loyalty and boost conversion!

Wrapping Up (Quite Literally)

Now, you’re one step closer to a successful holiday shopping season. Getting to know your customer segments is at the heart of all your marketing efforts. Only after segmenting different customer types can you personalise their customer journeys. Wishing you all a great holiday season!