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How Social Media and Product Reviews Impact Online Shopping - US - November 2018

OVERVIEW
What you need to know
Definition
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 
Social media and peer-generated content are crucial to selling online
Video helps sell products and build relationships
Building trust is essential
Product reviews are paramount
What’s next: More buying directly through social media, richer product reviews
SOCIAL MEDIA AND PRODUCT REVIEWS AND ONLINE SHOPPING – OVERVIEW
More spending is shifting from stores to online
Consumers are always connected
Social media is a part of our lives
Figure 1: Social media usage, February 2018
Social media posts can drive spontaneous purchasing
Figure 2: General social media pre-purchase browsing, by select demographics, September 2018
The trust issue
Figure 3: Trust in social media product content, by online shopping frequency, September 2018
How product reviews factor in
Figure 4: Pre- and post-purchase product review activities, September 2018
Incorporate product reviews in to social media
Figure 5: Video product review consumption, by generation, February 2018
SOCIAL MEDIA – INITIATIVES BY PLATFORM
Shoppable posts
Pinterest
Instagram
Chat lists on Facebook
Figure 6: Facebook Messenger retailer list example, October 2018
Image-based shopping
SOCIAL MEDIA – WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Videos are popular before and after purchasing
Small discounts can encourage social media posts
A little help from consumers’ friends
SOCIAL MEDIA – PRE-PURCHASE BROWSING 
YouTube outpaces other channels for inspiration
Figure 7: Social media pre-purchase browsing behavior, by platform, September 2018
Who’s browsing on each platform?
Social media plays a role across all categories bought online
Figure 8: Social media pre-purchase browsing, by product categories bought online; furniture, home decor, electronics/appliances September 2018
Figure 9: Social media pre-purchase browsing, by product categories bought online; beauty items, footwear, clothing/accessories, September 2018
Figure 10: Social media pre-purchase browsing, by product categories bought online; groceries, personal care products, and household products, September 2018
SOCIAL MEDIA – PRE-PURCHASE ACTIVITIES 
Just press play
Figure 11: Pre-purchase active engagement, September 2018
Younger consumers watch product videos
Figure 12: Product video usage as pre-purchase activity, by age, September 2018
Dads want to hear from others on social media
Figure 13: Product recommendation solicitation on social media, by parental status by gender, September 2018
Consumers “like” a good discount on Facebook
Figure 14: Pre-purchase active engagement, by product categories bought online; furniture, home décor, electronics/appliances, September 2018
Figure 15: Pre-purchase active engagement, by product categories bought online; groceries, household products, personal care products, September 2018
Figure 16: Pre-purchase active engagement, by product categories bought online; beauty items, footwear, clothing/accessories, September 2018
SOCIAL MEDIA – POST PURCHASE
Videos keep consumers engaged after buying
Figure 17: Post purchase online activities, September 2018
Dads are sharing and commenting about products on Facebook
Figure 18: Post-purchase social media posting behaviors, by parental status and gender, September 2018
Rewards drive younger consumers to post on social media
Figure 19: Likelihood to post on social media if offered a future discount, by gender and age, September 2018
Negative experiences can drive negative perceptions online
Figure 20: Attitudes and behaviors around negative social media posts, by online shopping frequency, September 2018
Social media is viewed as a last resort for customer service
Figure 21: Social media customer service outreach, by parental status, by age, September 2018
Facebook is most popular for customer service inquiries
Rapid response
SOCIAL MEDIA – FUTURE PURCHASING DRIVERS
Friends help retailers stand out with older consumers
Figure 22: Attitudes toward paid social media posts, by generation, September 2018
Social media drives impulse purchasing
Figure 23: Attitudes toward social media and impulse purchasing, by gender and age, by Hispanic origin, September 2018
PRODUCT REVIEWS – WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Two thirds of all online shoppers read product reviews
Shoppers pay close attention to review details
Show more size information, images from users
Feature reviews that tell how to use a product
PRODUCT REVIEWS – USAGE AND ATTITUDES
Two thirds of online shoppers read product reviews before buying
Figure 24: Pre-purchase product review usage, by generation, September 2018
Reading beyond the star ratings
Figure 25: Attitudes toward online product reviews, September 2018
Negative reviews and lack of reviews deter younger women
Figure 26: Attitudes toward online product reviews, by gender and age, September 2018
Omnichannel browsing creates loyalty
Figure 27: In-store online product review usage, by gender and age, September 2018
Verify accuracy of reviews to build trust
Figure 28: Reasons why consumers don’t read product reviews, September 2018
PRODUCT REVIEWS – WHAT CONSUMERS VALUE
Quality, product size, user experience, and user-generated content matter
Figure 29: Product review content that consumers value, September 2018
Quality – Review quality tops quantity
Figure 30: Attitudes toward product review quality, by generation, September 2018
Sizing – Women value information about how clothes, furniture fit
Figure 31: Attitudes toward product size information in product reviews, by gender, September 2018
User experience – Parents of younger children want to know how others used products
Figure 32: Attitudes toward user experience information in product reviews, by parental status and age of children, September 2018
User generated content – More frequent online shoppers have higher interest
Figure 33: Attitudes toward user-generated content in product reviews, by online shopping frequency, September 2018
Combine quality and quantity of reviews with how customer service issues were handled
Figure 34: TURF analysis – Attitudes toward product reviews, September 2018
What’s in style
Figure 35: Information consumers want to see more of in product reviews, September 2018
Tell consumers how to use a product and where other reviewers are from
Figure 36: Desire to see more information in product reviews on occasions where clothing can be worn and geographic location, by parental status, September 2018
PRODUCT REVIEWS – WHAT CONSUMERS WILL SHARE 
Consumers are open to sharing personal information
Figure 37: Information consumers are comfortable sharing in product reviews, September 2018
Younger consumers are willing to share more personal information
Figure 38: Attitudes toward sharing clothing size, geographic location, or images in product reviews, by generation, September 2018
HOW CONSUMERS READ PRODUCT REVIEWS
Evaluating a sample review
Figure 39: Product review examples
Consumers want to know that a product works and performs
Going beyond price
A picture is worth a thousand words
PRODUCT REVIEWS – WHY CONSUMERS WOULD CONSIDER WRITING IN THE FUTURE
Positive experiences lead consumers to review products
Figure 40: Reasons for writing product reviews in the future, September 2018
Older consumers are motivated to write reviews to help others
Figure 41: Better informing others as a reason for writing product reviews in the future, by generation, September 2018
Rural consumers want to support smaller businesses
Figure 42: Reasons for writing a product review in the future, by geographic area, September 2018
Reaching out, appealing to consumers’ desire to help others can drive more to write reviews
Figure 43: TURF analysis – Reasons for writing product reviews, September 2018
How consumers would approach writing a future online product review
Focus on functionality
Helping others
Detail oriented
APPENDIX – DATA SOURCES AND ABBREVIATIONS
Data sources
Consumer survey data
Consumer qualitative research
Terms
APPENDIX – THE CONSUMER 
Figure 44: Social media usage, by generation, February 2018
Figure 45: Table - TURF analysis – Attitudes toward product reviews, September 2018
Figure 46: Table - TURF analysis – Reasons for writing product reviews, September 2018

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