Working in retail, one gets to meet many different kinds of customers, and they all have to be met and treated individually according to who they are and what they want to achieve. The hectic Christmas time brings even more challenges when setting the bar for outstanding customer experiences.

The list below may help you recognize some typical types of customers and help you make the most out of meeting them in your shop.

1, The Gift Giver

The Gift Giver is the dominant type of customer during the holidays. Some of them already know what they want. 

In that case, you just point them in the right direction, but if they’re undecided, don’t hesitate to ask them about the person they’re shopping for. 

What’s their relationship with the recipient? What are they interested in? How old are they? Be helpful and guide the shopper through the store with their answers to your questions in mind. 

Make the shopping experience as efficient as possible. Offer to gift wrap the item for them! It might take some time, but it will be appreciated!

2, The customer on a mission

These customers already know what they want to buy and want the visit to be as quick as possible. Don’t try to get in their way! Make the process simple and convenient for them!

Open a new counter if many people are waiting or anything else that might make them buy their things smoothly.

3, The bargain-hunter

These customers are looking for bargains. They are searching for the lowest price and will go on looking for it until they find it. No brand loyalty here!

What you can do is make them “feel” they are getting a good deal.

Will your product save them money in the long run? Maybe you can offer a better guarantee?

If this doesn’t work, you can at least ask if you can send them some information when you run a sale or promote something special later.

4, The “Just looking around” customer

These are the shoppers who walk into the shop with no real intention. They are also frequent this time of the year. They might have seen something in the window that caught their interest, or they may have entered the shop to get some inspiration.

If they tell you they are just looking around, react positively and make them feel welcome. 

You can casually mention a specific offer you have at the time, but apart from that, leave them to themselves until they ask for help.

The best way to encourage impulse buys is to have your shop prepared so that it’s inviting and all things for sale are easy to grab and easy to overview.

5, The showroom visitor

This type of customer checks out the products in your shop but will go online to buy them if they find a better price. 

One way of managing them is to actually match the best price they can find online! 

If that is not possible, another strategy is to focus on the advantages you can offer in the shop, such as immediate delivery or other unique offers that you might have.

This is, on the whole, an essential strategy in digital times to avoid commoditizing your products!

6, The difficult customer

This broad definition includes particularly rude and combative customers. In hectic Christmas times, you are likely to meet some of them. 

Perhaps they are not happy with the service they received, or they have just had a stressful day and take it out on you. Remember to stay calm. If it is a bad situation, try to handle it away from other shoppers. Discuss the matter in your office or at the back of the store. 

7, The regular customer

And most important of all.

No customer is better than your regular customer! Remember them at Christmas time.

Make sure they feel valued and remind them why they love shopping in your store. Live up to the qualities they appreciate time and time again! 

Happy holidays!