"Colourtext always take a fresh approach to discovering hidden patterns in data. Whether you want to conduct segmentation or mine your CRM for deep insights, they will help you see your customers , and what they are seeing , in new ways."
GDPR-safe collection of digital lifestyle data, including e-commerce customer journeys
Project: US eShopper segmentation
Project Design: Jason Brownlee, Colourtext
Data sources: Passive data collection using passive metering technology
Passive metering technology allows us to analyse modern digital lifestyles and eShopper trends in granular detail. We have access to thousands of online panel members who have explicitly agreed to install our passive data collection app on their mobile and desktop devices in major markets like the US and UK.
Before Covid Amazon's appeal to eShoppers was making life tough for retailers that depended on physical store visits to drive their trade. But the pandemic lockdowns have effectively forced most retail brands to accelerate their transition to the world of e-commerce.
This means it's more important than ever to understand online shopping behaviour. With this in mind Colourtext has used passive metering technology to undertake a market segmentation of eShoppers in the US.
We collected and analysed every click made by 3,500 U.S. eShoppers on their mobile and desktop devices over a 6 week period. This huge volume of 'clickstream' behavioural data was collected via our GDPR-compliant passive metering technology.
We then matched the clickstream data with responses to a follow-up online survey that was completed by 2,000 of the eShoppers that took part in our passive metering exercise. The survey data yielded a wealth of attitudinal and perception data that we used to interpret eShopping behaviour patterns within the clickstream data.
This major source of combined data reveals e-commerce behaviour in minute detail. It contains thousands of path-to-purchase instances where people research products, abandon carts and complete purchases. This behaviour is contextualised by information about age, gender, income levels and content consumption profiles that influence online shopping habits.
The following eShopper segmentation illustrates the passive collection data we can provide in the US, UK and several other major markets. Retailers and brand owners can use it to create e-commerce strategies and optimise performance marketing campaigns. To learn more or request a quotation for a running passive metering project please drop us an email.
The US consumers that took part in our eShopper segmentation study are rewarded for participating in our 'always on' passive metering panel, which collects click-by-click device interactions on an ongoing basis. Panelist data is carefully screened to maintain individual anonymity and is fully GDPR compliant.
The passive metering technology enables us to collect data on the web browsing and app usage habits of consumers, including e-commerce customer journey paths. When we combine this data with accurate demographic profiling and survey questionnaire responses we discover new insights into the customer motivations and need states that lead to a purchase decision.
The graphic below illustrates the data sample for our study.
This blended dataset of behaviour and opinion formed the basis of the market segmentation. We used our proprietary network-based algorithms to identify 6 distinctive eShopper personas within the US, which are summarised below.
For the sake of brevity we'll focus on just one of the eShopper personas to illustrate what passive metering data reveals, paying particular attention to this group's relationship with Amazon.
These guys are family orientated, career minded and tend to be fairly liberal (but with a small ‘L'). They love mainstream pop culture, looking good and entertaining at home. They consider themselves to be pretty funny, creative, optimistic and ambitious.
They practically live online and are heavy users of social media. They tend to prefer apps on mobile devices rather than web browsing and their main online activities include streaming video, sharing photos and direct messaging.
This group often reads online reviews but can also be highly impulsive online shoppers - they often splash out on stuff they like rather than need. They’re willing to pay extra for better quality but also love to hunt down attractive discount codes.
The passive metering data from this group reveals a very distinctive pattern of eShopper behaviours that e-commerce retailers can optimise for.
