Purchase behaviors are the patterns that customers have when it comes to purchasing goods and services.

They can range to behavior when making a purchase, such as what customers look at first (price or quality?), to behavior over the course of numerous purchases, such as what kinds of products customers tend to buy.

 

Purchase behaviors are monitored online through every transaction that customers make.

Customers that purchase certain types of items will later receive advertisements for areas relating to these items on sites such as Google and Facebook; overall patterns are tracked and utilized.

However, purchase behaviors can also affect your business website, because ultimately, customers create the backbone of your website users – learn how to use their purchasing behavior to help your website.

 

1. E-commerce

 

Customers that come online to purchase certain items will want to utilize business e-commerce options; therefore, you should consider adding an online store to your website. E-commerce offers increased options for customer convenience as well as increased sales and special promotions.

 

2. Website layout

 

Stores use certain layouts to fit in with certain purchase behaviors – for example, many customers make “impulse buys” when they see small, cheap, desired items (such as chocolate) near the cash register; thus, stores place these items in clear view.

Stores will also place “staple” items (for example, in a grocery store, items such as milk and eggs) at the back of the store so that customers have to walk past many more, not necessarily needed items, and thus will be tempted to make more purchases on impulse.

 

Website can use these purchase behaviors to their advantage by manipulating information and graphic placement, the same way that stores arrange their layouts. Websites can place direct links to deals and new products on the front page, while placing “staple” items in a smaller tab or area of the site, requiring users to scroll past other offers.

 

3. Search engine optimization

 

Customers with a certain pattern of purchases (such as those that allow them to receive advertisements specifically for those types of purchases) will search for those items using keywords – and when these keywords appear on your website, they can attract those customers.

This purchase behavior causes customers to consistently search for similar types of items online; you can utilize search engine optimization (SEO) to make your website one of the first results in any internet search by adding in keywords that customers will search for.

Put yourself in your customer’s shoes. Ask yourself what you would do. Pay attention to your own purchasing behaviors in these 3 aspects, and go from there.

Recommended Reading: How Not To Educate Your Customers Online