The introduction of the internet has revolutionised how consumers make decisions when purchasing an item. Consumers no longer follow a linear path of seeing an advertisement for a product, contacting the seller, getting a quote and deciding whether they are going to purchase the product or not. Today’s buying process is a lot more complicated and non-linear. It involves consumers sourcing information on the internet from a vast array of locations before making an educated decision as to whether they wish to purchase the product or not. Research has shown that up to 67 percent of consumers are influenced by online reviews, with nearly one third of consumers rating online reviews as very important or higher.
Social media is one of the most dominant sources consumers turn to when researching a product. Studies have shown that as much as 83 percent of consumers discover brands, products and services through the use of social media, and 55 percent of consumers trust reviews they read on social media. Facebook is a key area where reviews can influence whether a consumer will purchase a product or not. Consumers are able to post reviews of a business on the business’ page or ‘Place’, or comment on any post for a product with their review. All of these reviews are easy to locate for anyone wanting to know more about a company or their product.
Video is another avenue consumers are looking towards today to get an informed opinion on a product before deciding whether to purchase it or not. Today, one third of activity on the internet is spent watching videos, and it is predicted that by 2020, 82 percent of all web consumer traffic will be video. Studies have also found that two thirds of consumers looking for online reviews on a product will look at videos, and consumers who do view videos on a product are 1.81 times more likely to purchase the product than consumers who do not view videos on the product.
Of course, you can’t talk about online reviews without mentioning review services such as TripAdvisor, Yelp and Amazon, all of which have dedicated channels for consumers to review products, services and businesses. These three services are just a few of the many services which offer reviews on products, but their impact on consumers should not be understated. Research has shown that 90 percent of consumers read online reviews before visiting a business, and nearly 60 percent of consumers will decide to not buy a product after viewing between one and three negative reviews about the product or service in question.
Regardless of where a consumer sources their information, it is clear that the reputation of the product or service in question is more crucial than ever in order for a consumer to purchase it. The introduction of the internet has meant that consumer opinions are now more highly regarded and easily accessible than ever before.