Things have been too busy and I just had the longest (unplanned) hiatus from the blog ever. For those who want to catch up on some of the action. I'll get back to it later.
Today is a set of facts and figures from Trendwatching's new report on transparency. While it focuses on the consumer products sector, I assume that similar ideas and sites are already percolating in different nonprofit and government offices - if for no other reason than worrying about the tyranny empowered people might wield over cherished ways of operating these enterprises. When do the large advocacy organizations start setting up similar consumer review and report sites? If you haven't read this yet, the revolution will not be televised.
- 80% of online shopping time is spent researching products rather than buying them. (TechCrunch)
- 71% of online shoppers read reviews, making it the most widely read consumer-generated content. (Forrester)
- In a test of product conversion with and without product ratings by customers. Conversion nearly doubled, going from .44% to 1.04% after the same product displayed its five-star rating. (Marketing Experiments Journal)
- 60 percent of online shoppers provide feedback about a shopping experience, and are more likely to give feedback about a positive experience than a negative one. (JupiterResearch)
- User-generated ratings and reviews are the second most important site feature behind search. Retailers who adopt ratings and reviews as a differentiator and retention strategy will gain market share. (JupiterResearch)
- In a study of 2,000 shoppers – 92% deemed customer reviews as “extremely” or “very” helpful and ~ 71% used keyword searches to find products. (eTailing Group)
- 59% of their users considered customer reviews to be more valuable than expert reviews. (Bizrate)
- Only 26% of the 137 top retailers surveyed offered customer ratings and reviews, but 96% of them ranked customer ratings and reviews as an effective or very effective tactic at driving conversion. (Forrester)
- 63% of consumers indicate they are more likely to purchase from a site if it has product ratings and reviews. (CompUSA & iPerceptions study)
- Conversion rates are higher on products with less than perfect reviews (less than 5 stars) than those without reviews at all, indicating that the customer feels that the product has been properly reviewed by other customers. (Burpee)
- 39 percent of those who bought from sites with reviews cite the reviews as the primary factor influencing the purchase decision. (Foresee Results Study, 2006)
Imagine when your agency and sector is included in these facts and figures. Will you be ready? For more from the transparency report.
Craig,
Congratulations...sounds like an awesome opportunity. And great reference to Gil Scott Heron. Tyranny or triumph? As GSH would say, semantics are a bitch.
Marianne
Posted by: Marianne Richmond | 03 May 2007 at 08:46 PM