The difference between shopper and consumer
Is there a difference between the shopper and the consumer?
Sometimes yes and sometimes no!
When we talk about FMCG there may also be a ‘gatekeeper’
Terms explained
The salesman
– the negotiator from the manufacturer who sells the product to the customer
Customer
the buyer who is responsible for doing the deal with the salesman
The gatekeeper
the person who is given the right to purchase for the consumer – there may be a range of acceptable options from which the gatekeeper can select.
The Shopper
the person who buys the product, actually selects it from the shelf or from the page on line, puts it into the shopping basket and pays for the product
The consumer
the person who actually uses the product – the end user
An example
The gatekeeper, the shopper and the consumer may be the same person or they may be completely different – e.g. Baby nappies /diaper – The mother could be the Gatekeeper or the shopper… but not the consumer. The father may be the shopper but not the gatekeeper [the mother decides the best product to buy – but the re are options if the first choice is not available on shelf] the father is not the consumer.
All these are related to Category Management – if you would like to know more please drop me a line.