Study: Shoppers using reviews, social posts and video more than ever
Product reviews, social media posts and videos are having more of an impact on shoppers than ever before, according to a new survey from Bazaarvoice.
The Bazaarvoice Conversation Index Volume 9 examines how consumers' online and offline shopping behavior is influenced by consumer-generated content (CGC) such as ratings and reviews, questions and answers, photos, videos, and social posts.
"The information that guides purchase decisions is no longer contained in a single channel, yet brands still struggle to link the online and offline experiences for their consumers," said Sara Spivey, chief marketing officer at Bazaarvoice. "CGC provides the bridge between the in-store and online experiences and the means to pivot from a shopping environment based on company branding to one informed by consumer experience."
The latest edition of The Conversation Index is based on an analysis of sample data from the Bazaarvoice network, including more than 57 million reviews and 35 billion product page views as well as supplemental data obtained via an April 2015 survey conducted by Bazaarvoice using Google Consumer Surveys.
Key highlights include:
Buyers who research online and buy offline (ROBO) are a new marketing opportunity for retailers: Fifty-four percent of surveyed consumers aged 25-34, and nearly half of consumers in the 35-44 and 45-54 age brackets, state that online CGC has an influence on their in-store purchases. Even among consumers aged 55-64, 40% acknowledge that CGC plays a factor in their decision-making process.
CGC plays an equally significant role in purchases of high- and low-consideration purchases: For relatively low-dollar purchases such as those common in the food and beverage industry, site visitors who use CGC buy 73% more often than those who did not. Likewise, high-value purchases such as those among automotive retailers and brands have seen as much as an 86% and 97% lift in offline sales conversion, respectively, among consumers who used CGC compared to those who didn't.
Service-oriented industries are increasingly influenced by CGC that conveys customer experience: When customer service is an essential component of a business, CGC is more likely to speak to interactions between customers and employees. For example, financial service organizations like insurance companies, banks, and credit unions experience one of the highest proportions of CGC that mentions customer service at 14%, 9%, and 7%, respectively.
For more information, visit www.bazaarvoice.com, read the blog at www.bazaarvoice.com/blog, and follow on Twitter at www.twitter.com/bazaarvoice.