social shopping trust | Crowdstorm (the blog)

»
S
I
D
E
B
A
R
«

Online Shoppers Trust Each Other

April 6th, 2008 by philip.wilkinson

New research out from eMarketer again, argues that shoppers are increasingly trusting each other when it comes to finding credible information advice about products or companies:

The fact is that knowledgeable and trusted peers provide valuable advice and insight to people trying to find the right products to buy and gain the advice and information they need. In fact, JupiterResearch reckons that online social network users were three time more likely to trust their peers’ opinions over advertising when making purchase decisions:

So, what does this really mean… Well, I think that people are actually getting more savvy in how they find and absorb information and that people are now looking to credible expert sources and trusted peers compared to just lists and lists of anonymous or not-related reviews. Ultimately no-one wants to be fooled by advertising or biased reviews, and having trusted sources from experts, opinion leaders, peers, and friends – can really help people feel more confident in their product research.

Social Graph + Research + Shopping -> 2008 is the year..

2 Responses

Oliver writes:
April 24th, 2008 at 5:07 pm

I think these types of survey never really show the true extent to which shopping is a social/peer based experience. Nearly all my major purchases are discussed and led by work mates, friends and blogs.

Surely most people buying something will mention it to peers, who will inevitably start advising. Most people wouldn’t define this as seeking a credible source of information, as it is a mostly passive process… but it is happening.
philip.wilkinson writes:
April 24th, 2008 at 6:19 pm

Very true Oliver – question is how do we actually bring that offline behaviour into an online context…