ReportLinker, a data company that simplifies how analysts get industry data, conducted a survey to answer three questions:
- Do people trust online reviews more than their friends?
- Do they read reviews before buying a product or visiting a place?
- What items or activities are the most reviewed online?
Key results indicated that a whopping 98 percent of people believe online reviews are at least somewhat reliable, and 59 percent of shoppers believe online reviews are equally as trustworthy as a review provided by a friend.
The survey also showed that consumers choose different online review sites depending on the product or service being researched. When looking for a good restaurant, they head to Yelp 53 percent of the time. When looking for product reviews, Amazon and eBay top the list, with each mentioned 57 percent of the time.
By far the most popular category of online reviews is electronics, with 71 percent of mentions. Hotel and restaurant reviews are the next most-popular searches, 53 percent and 52 percent respectively.
However, despite an extensive reliance on these online evaluations, only 51 percent of online shoppers say they take the time to write them.
To see full survey results, click here.
