Consumer Interactions: Social Shopping, Blogs and Reviews

Executive Summary

• Credible Sources of Information about a Company according to US Opinion-Elite Consumers*, October-November 2007 (% of respondents)
• Key Questions

The eMarketer View

The Online Social Shopping Phenomenon

• The Allure of Online Social Shopping
  • US Frequent Online Social Network Users Who Trust Their Peers' Opinions vs. Trusting Advertising When Making a Major Purchase Decision, 2007 (% of respondents)
  • Primary Reason that US Adult Internet Users Have Contributed to a Social Networking and/or User-Generated Content Web Site, April 2007 (% of respondents)
  • US Social Network Users, by Age, 2007 (% of respondents in each group)
  • Top 10 Online Retail Categories among US Internet Users, Ranked by Heavy Social Network User* Penetration, August 2007 (thousands and % of total)
• The Social Shopping Landscape
  • Leading Social Shopping Web Sites in the US, Ranked by Market Share of Visits, February 2008
• The Impact of Social Shopping on Retailers
  • Leading Upstream Types of Web Sites Visited by US Internet Users before Visiting Online Retail Web Sites*, December 2007 (% of total visits)
  • Marketing Objectives for Which Social Media Offer the Greatest Potential according to Marketing Professionals in Select Countries Worldwide*, 2007 (% of respondents)

How Blogs Influence the Consumer Decision Process

• US Blog Readers, by Age, 2007 (% of respondents)
• Blog, Instant Messaging (IM) and Social Networking Web Site Use by Affluent* vs. Total US Internet Users, March 2007 (% of respondents in each group)
• Credible Sources of Information about a Company according to US Opinion-Elite Consumers*, October-November 2007 (% of respondents)
• How US Internet Users Assess the Credibility of the Blogs They Read, November-December 2006 (% of respondents)
• US Online Shoppers Who Visit Retailer Web Sites Directly vs. via Blogs, 2007 (% of respondents)
• Top Twelve US Blogs, Ranked by Fans*, March 11, 2008
• Select Media that Influence Electronics Purchases by US Adult Consumers, December 2007 (% of respondents and % change vs. December 2006)
• Types of Sites Where US Internet Users Research Wine Online, April-May 2007 (% of respondents)
• Select US and UK Wine Blogs, 2008
• Marketing to Bloggers
  • Marketing Tactics that US Marketers Use or Will Consider Using Next Year, April-May 2007 (% of respondents)
  • US Marketers Who Use Word-of-Mouth, Blog or Social Network Marketing, 2007 (% of respondents in each group)

The Power of Online Customer Ratings and Reviews

• Who Reads and Writes Customer Reviews
  • Web Site* Content and Functionality Desired by US Internet Users, Q3 2007 (% of respondents)
  • Attitude of Online Shoppers toward Retail Web Sites with Customer Reviews, February 2007 (% of respondents)
  • Credibility of Consumer-Generated Online Reviews according to US Internet Users, August-September 2007 (% of respondents)
  • US Internet Users Who Read and/or Write Consumer-Generated Online Reviews, August-September 2007 (% of respondents)
  • Tone of Online Feedback for Products and Services Written in the Past Month by US Internet Users*, August-October 2007 (% of respondents)
• How Customer Reviews Are Used
  • Stage of Shopping Process during which US Online Buyers Read Customer Reviews, 2008 (% of respondents)
  • Purchase Decisions of US Internet Users that Have Been Influenced by Consumer-Generated Online Reviews, August-September 2007 (% of respondents)
  • US Internet Users Who Share/Discuss Consumer-Generated Online Reviews with Family, Friends and/or Colleagues, August-September 2007 (% of respondents)
  • Minimum Number of Customer Reviews Required by US Online Buyers before a Product Purchase Decision, 2008 (% of respondents)
  • Purchase Decisions of US Internet Users that Have Been Influenced by Consumer-Generated Online Reviews, by Product Category, August-September 2007 (% of respondents)
  • Offline Purchase Behavior of US Online Consumer Review Readers, by Service Category, October 2007 (% of respondents)
• How Retailers Benefit from Customer Reviews
  • Whether Web Sites of US Online Retailers Allow Customer Product Reviews on the Site, July 2007 (% of respondents)
  • US Online Retailers with Customer Reviews on Their Sites, Q4 2005, Q4 2006 & Q4 2007 (% of respondents)
  • Leading Benefits of Customer-Generated Ratings and Reviews according to Online Retailers in the UK, the US and Europe, June-July 2007 (% of respondents)
  • Effect of Customer-Generated Ratings and Reviews on Select Web Site Metrics in the Past Year according to Online Retailers in the UK, the US and Europe, June-July 2007 (% of respondents)
  • Conversion Rate Increase due to Customer Reviews on Web Site of US Online Retailers, 2007 (% of respondents)
  • Increase in Average Purchase by Online Shoppers Who Use vs. Do Not Use Customer Product Reviews on Web Sites* of US Online Retailers, July 2007 (% of respondents)
• Making Customer Ratings and Reviews Even More Useful

Trends to Watch

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