Altruism 'drives user reviews'- study
- Added:
- Dec 14, 2007
The majority of US consumers who write online reviews are motivated to do so by goodwill and positive sentiment, a new study from social commerce company Bazaarvoice and market research firm Keller Fay Group reveals.
Of the total sample surveyed, 90 per cent said they wrote reviews in order to help others make better buying decisions and more than 70 per cent said they wanted to help companies improve the products they sell.
The study also found that over three quarters – 79 per cent - wrote reviews in order to reward a company, while 87 per cent of the reviews were generally positive in tone.
“These results indicate that reviewers are motivated to help others and give back to the online community, not to abuse brands,” said Brett Hurt, founder and CEO of Bazaarvoice. “This research highlights a major myth about word of mouth and should encourage companies to be more comfortable with inviting consumers to talk about their experiences. These customers provide a vital source of authentic content to help others find the best products for their needs.”
Bazaarvoice and Keller Fay’s research focused on word of mouth marketing. The joint study asked consumers what moved them to share their opinions online.
It also found that a quarter of reviewers engage in social networks, while a fifth post messages on other people’s blogs or chat rooms.
The survey provides new insight into the prevalence of multi-channel shopping. Over 65 per cent of reviewers have returned to a retailer’s site to leave an online review about an offline purchase. The study also showed that nearly 60 per cent of reviewers have told friends and family about their product experience.
Earlier this year, Bazaarvoice and best practice online marketing company E-consultancy published The Social Commerce Report 2007**, which showed that online retailers in the UK are increasingly tapping into user generated content (UGC) as a way of increasing sales and improving customer satisfaction.
It found that more than half of all online sellers – 51 per cent - consider UGC as either extremely important or very important to company strategy over the next year. The overwhelming majority of survey respondents – 97 per cent - said that they found ratings and reviews either extremely helpful or very helpful ‘as consumers’.
Survey data on over 1,300 reviewers who posted one or more reviews to Bazaarvoice client web sites was collected online from August to October 2007.