Epsilon’s Data Practice Unveils Shopper Categories to Help Brands Better Understand Where Consumers Are Shopping and What They Are Buying
DALLAS – February 26, 2018 – Epsilon®, a global leader in creating connections between people and brands, today revealed findings from a new research report, “Amazon doesn’t mean the decline of your brand: Research shows how to survive and thrive in an Amazon world.” The findings, which looked at demographic, lifestyle, purchase and survey data from Epsilon’s Agility Audience suite of data solutions, reveal who shops at Amazon, how much they’re spending across retailers and information about how they shop across channels.
The study found that high-spending Amazon shoppers spend two times more than the average shopper across all retailers and channels in Epsilon’s Abacus ® cooperative transactional database, which contains more than 3,000 members among retail, catalog, e-commerce and more, including billions of transactions. On average, the top one percent of Amazon shoppers spent $2,574 annually at retailers other than Amazon, while Prime members spent $3,246 in the one-year period analyzed.
According to the quantitative study, conducted via a Shopper’s Voice® survey of 3,975 consumers, those who shopped on Amazon during the past six months cite price (64%), free shipping (60%) and ‘it was so easy to buy it this way’ (52%) as the top reasons they shop on Amazon. These numbers are even higher for Amazon Prime members. Amazon shoppers are most likely to purchase from other retailers because of price (81%), free shipping (60%) and promotions (44%). The promotions most likely to persuade Amazon shoppers to go elsewhere include free shipping (35%), $5 discount on purchase (25%) and buy one, get one half-price (18%).
“The findings from this comprehensive research show that retailers don’t have to be intimidated about losing share of a customer’s wallet because Amazon shoppers are spending everywhere,” shared Stacey Hawes, President, Data at Epsilon. “With competition comes opportunity. To succeed in today’s digital-first environment, retailers need to focus on their ability to know where consumers are shopping and why – across channels – so they can reach them in personalized ways at moments of interest. The results of these findings offer retailers the data and insights required to gain a deeper understanding of consumers.”
To better help retailers uncover where and why consumers are shopping, the findings from this report led Epsilon to develop Shopping Styles, a clustering system that categorizes households by their attitudes and channel preferences toward shopping as follows:
Amazon Rules
These Amazon loyalists are not fans of shopping, so they prefer to shop online rather than in-store with Amazon being their preferred destination. They will only shop elsewhere if the brand offers comparable pricing and free two-day shipping.
Click & Go
These convenience shoppers prefer to shop online because it’s fast. They like Amazon Prime for free shipping, music and videos but will shop anywhere online, including for groceries, and use retailers’ mobile apps.
Bricks & Clicks
These shoppers shop online and in-store as they bargain hunt. They always check online for deals before shopping in-store and use a number of credit cards and points.
Luxury & Leisure
These high-end shoppers spend a lot and like to buy from brands they trust. They prefer shopping in-store and will sometimes browse and shop their favorite retailers online.
Retail Therapy
These impulsive shoppers enjoy shopping with friends, at the store, and are motivated by surprise samples and giveaways. They’re on a budget and look for deals and coupons online.
@ the Store
These traditional shoppers shop at the store and mall because they like to touch and try on products before they purchase. They don’t trust the online channel and get coupons from the newspaper and weekly circular.
To uncover more insights from the report, Amazon doesn’t mean the decline of your brand: Research shows how to survive and thrive in an Amazon world, click here.
Methodology
This research included a four-pronged approach:
- Profile known Amazon shoppers and Amazon Prime members using Epsilon’s MarketViewä
- Epsilon’s Abacus® cooperative database to understand actual spend data and actual number of transactions on individuals, separated by Amazon shoppers vs. Amazon Prime shoppers.
- Epsilon’s TotalSource® Plus database to learn more about consumers who shop on Amazon, including demographics, finances, lifestyles and interests.
- A Shopper’s Voice® survey of 3,975 consumers — including Prime vs. non-Prime shoppers and online vs. offline shoppers ¾ to understand shopping preferences, behaviors and motivators.
Definitions
- Amazon shoppers – Regular (or Prime non-member) shoppers who don’t pay a membership fee, and as such, don’t get any additional benefits and pay standard shipping rates.
- Prime member – Amazon shoppers who pay a membership fee in exchange for benefits such as free two-day shipping.
- Online shopper – People who have purchased something online in the past six months.
- Offline shopper – People who have not purchased anything online in the past six months.
*For the purposes of this report, findings from the above methodology were extrapolated and applied to these definitions and in some instances the general consumer population.
About Epsilon
Epsilon® is an all-encompassing global marketing innovator. We provide unrivaled data intelligence and customer insights, world-class technology including loyalty, email and CRM platforms and data-driven creative, activation and execution. Epsilon’s digital media arm, Conversant®, is a leader in personalized digital advertising and insights through its proprietary technology and trove of consumer marketing data, delivering digital marketing with unprecedented scale, accuracy and reach through personalized media programs and through CJ AffiliateTM, one of the world’s largest affiliate marketing networks. Together, we bring personalized marketing to consumers across offline and online channels, at moments of interest, that help drive business growth for brands. Recognized by Ad Age as the #1 World’s Largest CRM/Direct Marketing Network, #1 Largest U.S. Agency from All Disciplines, #1 Largest U.S. CRM/Direct Marketing Agency Network and #1 Largest U.S. Mobile Marketing Agency, Epsilon employs over 8,000 associates in 70 offices worldwide. Epsilon is an Alliance Data® company. For more information, visit www.epsilon.com and follow us on Twitter @EpsilonMktg.
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