eCommerce segmentation is all about activating your most valuable and profitable visitors.
But how do you identify the 1-5% of consumers who contribute up to 95% of revenue in order to invest the right marketing spend and resources on the right people?
Well, you could dive deep into your data, studying unclassified customer segments, understanding your buyer personas, discovering interesting groups, and then analyzing the data to carve out meaningful stories about your visitors.
Or, you could use these 50 proven segmentation recipes we’ve pulled together from years of working with eCommerce sites around the world as a starting point for helping you make that determination.
Feels a little like cheating, but these powerful recipes have been ripped right out of our segmentation cookbook so you can more quickly prioritize, experiment with, and optimize experiences for high-value customers.
Feel free to tweak the conditions (time/values) in each of the eCommerce segmentation examples below as necessary for your site.
Now you’re cooking with gas!
| Audience/Segment | Description | Time Frame | Conditions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Purchased in the Past Year | Users who bought something during the past year | Past year | <Purchase> event is at least ‘1’ during the past ‘year’ |
| Purchased in the Past 6 Months | Users who bought something during the past 6 months | 6 months | <Purchase> event is at least ‘1’ during the past ‘6 months’ |
| Purchased in the Past 30 Days | Users who bought something during the past 30 days | 30 days | <Purchase> event is at least ‘1’ during the past ’30 days’ |
| Multiple Purchases in the Past Year | Users who completed at least 2 purchases in the past year | Past year | <Purchase> event is at least ‘2’ during the past ‘year’ |
| Multiple Purchases in the Past 6 Months | Users who completed at least 2 purchases in the past 6 months | 6 months | <Purchase> event is at least ‘2’ during the past ‘6 months’ |
| Multiple Purchases in the Past 30 Days | Users who completed at least 2 purchases in the past 30 days | 30 days | <Purchase> event is at least ‘2’ during the past ’30 days’ |
| Purchased in Past 6 Months but Not in Past 3 Months | Users who completed at least 1 purchase in the past 6 months but in the last 3 months | 6 months | <Purchase> event is at least ‘1’ during the past ‘6 months’ AND excludes <audience> with <purchase> event equals ‘0’ in past three months |
| Loyal Shoppers | Users who completed at least 7 purchases in the past year | Past year | <Purchase> event is at least ‘7’ during the past ‘year’ |
| Frequent Buyers | Users who completed at least 5 purchases in the past 6 months | 6 months | <Purchase> event is at least ‘5’ during the past ‘6 months’ |
| Top Monthly Buyers | Users who completed at least 3 purchases in the past 30 days | 30 days | <Purchase> event is at least ‘3’ during the past ’30 days’ |
| Coupon Lovers | Users who completed a purchase using a coupon | 30 days | <Purchase> event is at least ‘1’ during the past ’30 days’ AND <Coupon Usage> is at least ‘1’ |
| Bought Items with 10% Discount | Users who bought items with 10% discount | Past year | <Purchase> event is at least ‘1’ AND <Redeemed Discount> equals ’10’ |
| Bought Items with 15% Discount | Users who bought items with 15% discount | Past year | <Purchase> event is at least ‘1’ AND <Redeemed Discount> equals ’15’ |
| Bought Items with 20%+ Discount | Users who bought items with 20%+ discount | Past year | <Purchase> event is at least ‘1’ AND <Redeemed Discount> is at least ’20’ |
| Multiple Purchases in Category | Users who bought at least X items form a specific category during the past year | Past year | <Purchase> event is at least ‘1’ AND <Product Purchase Category> event value equals ‘xxx’ |
| Highest Spenders in Category | Highest spending users in a category with a cart value of over 15% above the average purchase value | Past year | <Purchase> event value is above ‘$X’ AND <Product Purchase Category> event value equals ‘xxx’ |
| Unconverted Recommendation Engine Clickers | Users who clicked on at least 2 recommended items during a single session and didn’t buy | Session level | <Recommendation Widget> even click is at least ‘2’ times AND <Purchase> event equals ‘0’ |
| Converted Recommendation Engine Clickers | Users who clicked on at least 2 recommended items during a single session and completed a purchase | Session level | <Recommendation Widget> even click is at least ‘2’ times AND <Purchase> event is at least ‘1’ |
| Buyers Following Chat Widget | Users who initiated a chat and have completed a purchase during the same session | Session level | <Online Chat> event is at least ‘1’ AND <Purchase> event is at least ‘1’ |
| Buyers Following Search Activation | Users who conducted a site search and complete a purchase during the same session | Session level | <Search> event is at least ‘2’ AND <Purchase> event is at least ‘1’ |
| Conducted Site Search But Did Not Convert | Users who conducted a site search but didn’t complete a purchase | Session level | <Search> event is at least ‘2’ AND <Purchase> event is ‘0’ |
| Big Spenders | Users who completed a purchase with a value of over 15% above the average purchase value | 30 days | <Purchase> event value is above ‘$X’ AND event is at least ‘1’ time |
| VIP Shoppers | Users whose Lifetime value exceeds X amount | Lifetime | <Lifetime Value> value is above ‘$X’ |
| Shopping Cart Abandoners | Users with items in their shopping carts from previous sessions but without any purchases | 7 days | <Add to Cart> event 0 AND <Purchase> event equals ‘0’ |
| Product-Focused Shoppers | Users who completed a purchase during a relatively short time | Session level | <Purchase> event is at least ‘1’ AND <Time to Purchase> value is at most ’15’ minutes |
| Browsers | Users who spend a relatively great deal of time on the site | Session level | <Purchase> event is ‘0’ AND <Time of Session> value is at least ‘4:30’ |
| Researchers | Users who spend a lot of time exploring a specific product page | Session level | <Pages Per Session> is at most ‘3’ and <Viewed Page Type> contains ‘Product Pages’ |
| Bargain Hunters | Users who are on the lookout for the best available deals | 6 months | <Cateogry Sorting Type> is ‘Price: Low to High’ OR <Page Visited> is ‘/on-sale/’ at least ‘5’ times |
| One-time shoppers | Single session users who completed a purchase | 6 months | <Purchase> event is at least ‘1’ during the past ‘6 months’ AND <Sessions Per User> is exactly ‘1’ |
| Female Shoppers | Female shoppers with past purchases | Lifetime | <Purchase> event is at least ‘1’ AND <Gender> equals ‘Female’ |
| Male Shoppers | Male shoppers with past purchases | Lifetime | <Purchase> event is at least ‘1’ AND <Gender> equals ‘Male’ |
| Goal Oriented shoppers | Users with a high purchase intention who search for a specific product | Session level | <Landing Page> is ‘product page’ OR <search> event is ‘model number’ |
| Window Shoppers | Users who browse PDP’s without high purchase intention | Session level | <Purchase> event is ‘0’ AND <Pages Per Session> value is at least ‘5’ AND <Viewed Page Type> is ‘product pages’ |
| Psychological Ownership | Users who add items to cart with no intention of purchasing | Lifetime | <Purchase> event is ‘0’ and <add to cart> event is at least ‘2’ |
| Maximizers | Users who browse entire product category before making a decision | Session level | <Pages Per Session> is at least ‘3’ AND <Viewed Page Type> is ‘category pages’ AND <Event> is ‘reached category end’ |
| Satisficers | The opposite of maximizers, users who purchase the first product that matches their criteria | Session level | <Purchase> event is at least ‘1’ AND <Viewed Page Type> is ‘product page’ at most ‘2’ times |
| Brand fans | Users who are interested the highest-rated products | Lifetime | <Cateogry Sorting Type> is ‘Most popular’ AND event is at least ‘5’ times |
| Logged-in visitors | Users that have opted-in or created a user account | Lifetime | <Event> is ‘created account’ |
| Newsletter Registerers | User that have signed up for the newsletter | Lifetime | <Event> is ‘newsletter signup’ |
| Email Visitors | Users who arrived via email campaign | Session level | <Traffic source> is ’email’ AND <Campaign> is ‘newsletter / specific email campaign’ |
| Local Shoppers | Users who made purchase from the same location as online store | Lifetime | <Purchase> event is at least ‘1’ AND <City> equals ‘business’s city’ |
| Distant Shoppers | Users who made a purchase from location different than location of online store | Lifetime | <Purchase> event is at least ‘1’ AND <City> does not equal ‘business’s city’ |
| Geo-Location Shoppers | Users who make a purchase from a specific geo-location | Lifetime | <Purchase> event is at least ‘1’ AND <City> equals ‘customer’s city’ |
| Mobile App Shoppers | Users who made a purchase from a native app | Lifetime | <Purchase> event is at least ‘2’ AND <Event> equals ‘mobile app purchase’ |
| Affiliate Site Shoppers | Users who arrived from an affiliate site | Session level | <Traffic Source> is ‘stated affiliate’ |
| Added Products to Favorites | Users who added a product to their favorites | Session level | <Event> is ‘add to favorites’ |
| Used Specific Delivery Method | Users who made a purchase using X delivery method | Lifetime | <Purchase> event is at least ‘1’ AND <event name> is ‘delivery service name’ |
| Used Specific Payment Method | Users who made a purchase using X payment method | Lifetime | <Purchase> event is at least ‘1’ AND <event name> is ‘payment service name’ |