15 Statistics on Consumer Ratings & Reviews

I don’t trust you.

Not if you’re a corporation that is. And I’m not alone as over the past 30+ years we’ve grown to trust corporations less and less and each other more and more. Word-of-mouth as a marketing concept dates back to when consumers first climbed out of the primordial ooze but what is new is that it’s on turbo-charge and been made into a powerful internet marketing tool thanks to social networking and the explosion of reviewing and rating tools.

Don’t trust me on this?

Don’t blame you. So here are 15 statistics that underline the internet marketing power that comes from activating your most valuable resource: your fans.

1. Traffic on review sites grew 158% last year (Compete.com)
2. 70% now consult reviews or ratings before purchasing (BusinessWeek)
3. Even before making an offline purchase in shops, 51% of consumers use the Internet (Verdict Research, May 2009)
4. 92% have more confidence in info found online than they do in anything from a salesclerk or other source (Wall Street Journal, Jan 2009)
5. 90% of consumers spend 24 hours or more researching a product that cost $300+…and only 6 minutes with the actual online retailer.
6. 90% of online consumers trust recommendations from people they know; 70% trust consumers they don’t know, 27% trust experts, 14% trust advertising
7. 75% of people don’t believe that companies tell the truth in advertisements (Yankelovich)
8. 7 in 10 who read reviews share them with friends, family & colleagues thus amplifying their impact (Deloitte & Touche, Sept. 2007)
9. 34% have turned to social media to air their feelings about a company. 26% to express dissatisfaction, 23% to share companies or products they like. (Harris Poll, April 2010)
10. Why do people share? 46% say they can be brutally honest on the internet.  38% aim to influence others when they express their preferences online (Harris Poll, April 2010)
11. Reviews on a site can boost conversion +20% (Bazaarvoice.com/resources/stats “Conversion Results”)
12. Consumers spend 2X as much time – 14 minutes – with e-tail sites that have reviews.
13. 97% who made a purchase based on an online review found the review to be accurate (Comscore/The Kelsey Group, Oct. 2007)
14. Consumers are 50% more likely to use a local business after a positive review.
15. 85% are more likely to purchase products/services if they can find recommendations aboug it online.

Hope this helps. If it does…

…pass it on.