2010 online influence trend tracker
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American consumers are no longer taking the recommendations of family or friends at face value, according to the latest Cone research. Before deciding whether to purchase recommended products or services, more than four-out-of-five consumers (81%) will go online to verify those recommendations, specifically through researching product/service information (61%), reading user reviews (55%) or searching ratings websites (43%). These are among the findings of the newly released 2010 Cone Online Influence Trend Tracker . Whom Do Consumers Trust? As consumers have become increasingly impervious to traditional media, marketers have realized that consumers are turning to their personal network of friends, family and acquaintances to confirm their opinions prior to making purchase decisions. Heeding this behavior shift, marketers began targeting consumers’ inner circles with word-of-mouth then social media campaigns as the new marketing tipping point for purchase decisions. Today, these campaigns are no longer enough. Data from the 2010 Cone Online Influence Trend Tracker reveal consumers have added yet another step prior to reaching for the credit card – online verification. Online Verification: The New Consumerism Norm Increasing skepticism of traditional media, technology advancements and growing online connectivity have all combined to give consumers ultimate control of their research volume before deciding what, when and how to buy. Thus, personal recommendations alone are no longer enough to guarantee a purchase, as three-quarters of consumers (77%) agree they are more likely to purchase products or services when they can find additional recommendations about them online. Among 25- to 34-year-olds, online verification is even more vital; 91 percent will go online to verify recommendations before making a purchase and nearly the same number (90%) are more likely to purchase products or services after finding additional online recommendations. Cost Not a Factor, Consumers Verify Product Claims This information-seeking behavior is not exclusive to high-cost purchases. Consumers will verify recommendations online for products or services at a range of price points, including: • Low cost: 72% of Americans would go online to do additional research about recommended movies or restaurants; • Moderate cost: 85% would go online to do additional research about recommended computer equipment; and, • High cost: 82% would go online to do additional research about a recommended car. Cost may not be a factor, but the tone of online information plays a powerful role in the purchase decision, often outweighing the initial recommendation. More than two-thirds of consumers (68%) agree negative product or service information found online can be a mitigating factor in deciding whether to purchase. Conversely, positive information reinforces purchase recommendations for a full 80 percent of Americans. Online verification does take on a more crucial role for certain purchase criteria. For example, two-thirds of consumers will go online to verify recommendations about products or services they’ll own for many years (66%) or those that have an unfamiliar feature (65%). Product claims are also fair game, as Americans will verify recommended products or services with health and safety claims (66%). CONSUMERS LOOK ONLINE TO VERIFY PURCHASE RECOMMENDATIONS, EVEN FROM THEIR MOST TRUSTED SOURCES
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Transcript of 2010 online influence trend tracker
855 Boylston Street I Boston MA 02166 I www.coneinc.comphone: 617.227.2111 fax: 617.523.3955 BUILDING BRAND TRUST SM
American consumers are no longer taking the recommendations of family or friends at face value, according to the latest Cone research. Before deciding whether to purchase recommended products or services, more than four-out-of-five consumers (81%) will go online to verify those recommendations, specifically through researching product/service information (61%), reading user reviews (55%) or searching ratings websites (43%). These are among the findings of the newly released 2010 Cone Online Influence Trend Tracker.
Whom Do Consumers Trust?As consumers have become increasingly impervious to traditional media, marketers have realized that consumers are turning to their personal network of friends, family and acquaintances to confirm their opinions prior to making purchase decisions. Heeding this behavior shift, marketers began targeting consumers’ inner circles with word-of-mouth then social media campaigns as the new marketing tipping point for purchase decisions. Today, these campaigns are no longer enough. Data from the 2010 Cone Online Influence Trend Tracker reveal consumers have added yet another step prior to reaching for the credit card – online verification.
Online Verification: The New Consumerism NormIncreasing skepticism of traditional media, technology advancements and growing online connectivity have all combined to give consumers ultimate control of their research volume before deciding what, when and how to buy. Thus, personal recommendations alone are no longer enough to guarantee a purchase, as three-quarters of consumers (77%) agree they are more likely to purchase products or services when they can find additional recommendations about them online. Among 25- to 34-year-olds, online verification is even more vital; 91 percent will go online to verify recommendations before making a purchase and nearly the same number (90%) are more likely to purchase products or services after finding additional online recommendations.
Cost Not a Factor, Consumers Verify Product ClaimsThis information-seeking behavior is not exclusive to high-cost purchases. Consumers will verify recommendations online for products or services at a range of price points, including:
• Low cost: 72% of Americans would go online to do additional research about recommended movies or restaurants; • Moderate cost: 85% would go online to do additional research about recommended computer equipment; and, • High cost: 82% would go online to do additional research about a recommended car.
Cost may not be a factor, but the tone of online information plays a powerful role in the purchase decision, often outweighing the initial recommendation. More than two-thirds of consumers (68%) agree negative product or service information found online can be a mitigating factor in deciding whether to purchase. Conversely, positive information reinforces purchase recommendations for a full 80 percent of Americans.
Online verification does take on a more crucial role for certain purchase criteria. For example, two-thirds of consumers will go online to verify recommendations about products or services they’ll own for many years (66%) or those that have an unfamiliar feature (65%). Product claims are also fair game, as Americans will verify recommended products or services with health and safety claims (66%).
CONSUMERS LOOK ONLINE TO VERIFY PURCHASE RECOMMENDATIONS, EVEN FROM THEIR MOST TRUSTED SOURCES
855 Boylston Street I Boston MA 02166 I www.coneinc.comphone: 617.227.2111 fax: 617.523.3955 BUILDING BRAND TRUST SM
Strangers 2%Co-workers 2%Other Acquaintances
Friends
Family63%
31%
2%
Americans trust family and friends for product or service recommendations:
0 20 40 60 80 100
BUT, American consumers still go ONLINE to verify recommendations about products or services before deciding whether to purchase them:
Total 81%
91%
77%
90%
66%
74%
55%
69%
Ages 25-34
Total
Ages 25-34
Total
Ages 25-34
Total
Ages 25-34
After getting a recommendation about a product or service I may want to purchase, I go online to
do additional research about that product or service before deciding whether to purchase it.
I am more likely to purchase products or services when I can find additional
recommendations about them online.
After getting a recommendation about a product or service, I go online to do additional research about its HEALTH AND SAFETY CLAIMS
before deciding whether to purchase it.
After getting a recommendation about a product or service, I go online to do additional research
about its ENVIRONMENTAL CLAIMS before deciding whether to purchase it.
2010 Online Influence Trend Tracker
Fact Sheet
855 Boylston Street I Boston MA 02166 I www.coneinc.comphone: 617.227.2111 fax: 617.523.3955 BUILDING BRAND TRUST SM
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
After getting a recommendation about a product or service I want to purchase that
benefits a SOCIAL OR ENVIRONMENTAL CAUSE, I go online to do additional research before deciding
whether to purchase it.
After getting a recommendation about a NONPROFIT I may want to support, I go online to do additional research about that nonprofit before
deciding whether to support it.
Americans will also go online to verify recommendations about products associated with causes or nonprofit organizations they are considering supporting:
Ages 25-34
Total
Ages 25-34
Total 62%
75%
80%
71%
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Research product/service information
Search for consumer or user reviews
Search for the product/service on ratings websites (e.g., Consumer Reports, Angie’s
List, Yelp!, etc.)
Search for opinions from product/service experts
Read articles or blog posts about the product/service
Solicit opinions from social network(s)
Consumers go online to search for product or service information and user reviews before deciding whether to purchase recommended products or services:
Total
Ages 25-34
Total
Ages 25-34
Total
Ages 25-34
Total
Ages 25-34
Total
Ages 25-34
Total
Ages 25-34
61%
55%
43%
28%
38%
10%23%
37%
42%
43%
61%
66%
2010 Online Influence Trend Tracker - Fact Sheet
855 Boylston Street I Boston MA 02166 I www.coneinc.comphone: 617.227.2111 fax: 617.523.3955 BUILDING BRAND TRUST SM
0
20
40
60
80
100
Has NEGATIVE information you’ve read online ever made you change your mind about purchasing a product or service recommended to you?
Has POSITIVE information you’ve read online ever reinforced your decision to purchase a product or service recommended to you?
The tone of information found online will determine whether consumers decide to purchase recommended products or services:
Yes80%
Yes68%
Age
s 25
-34
87%
74%
Tota
l
Age
s 25
-34
Tota
l
0
20
40
60
80
100
Low CostI would go online to do additional research about movies or restaurants that were recommended to me (e.g., I read reviews, watch trailers, look at an online menu, etc.).
Moderate CostI would go online to do additional research about computer equipment that was recommended to me (e.g., I look at the product’s website, read online articles from a tech magazine, etc.).
High CostI would go online to do additional research about a car that was recommended to me (e.g., I look at Car & Driver’s website, read reviews, etc.).
Cost is not a factor when Americans decide whether to verify product or service recommendations online:
Age
s 25
-34
Tota
l
Age
s 25
-34
Tota
l
Age
s 25
-34
Tota
l
72%
88% 85% 82%
93%93%
2010 Online Influence Trend Tracker - Fact Sheet
855 Boylston Street I Boston MA 02166 I www.coneinc.comphone: 617.227.2111 fax: 617.523.3955 BUILDING BRAND TRUST SM
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
When it is a product or service I’ll own or use for many years.
When it is a product or service that is new or has a new feature I’m not yet
familiar with.
When the product or service is one I’ve spent a long time looking for.
When the product or service will require a time commitment (e.g., a movie will
take up three hours of my day, a dinner at a new restaurant will take up an
entire evening), and I want to ensure my time will be well spent.
Consumers will go online to verify recommendations about a product or service:
Ages 25-34
Total
Ages 25-34
Total
Ages 25-34
Total
Ages 25-34
Total
66%
65%
50%
33%
45%
52%
64%
63%
About the Survey: The 2010 Cone Online Influence Trend Tracker presents the findings of an online survey conduct-ed June 7-8, 2010 by ORC among a representative U.S. sample of 1,055 adults comprising 513 men and 542 women 18 years of age and older. The margin of error associated with a sample of this size is + 3%.
About Cone:Cone (www.coneinc.com) is a strategy and communications agency engaged in building brand trust. Cone creates stakeholder loyalty and long-term relationships through the development and execution of Cause BrandingSM, Brand Marketing, Corporate Responsibility, Nonprofit Marketing and Crisis Prevention and Management initiatives. Cone is a part of the Omnicom Group (NYSE: OMC) (www.omnicomgroup.com).
2010 Online Influence Trend Tracker - Fact Sheet
