Good reviews are one of the top factors that consumers take into account when making brand purchase decisions. It certainly helps that they trust those reviews: research [pdf] from Ipsos has found that people trust reviews from other users or customers of a product or service more than they do a variety of other information sources.
Indeed, a slight majority of US adults surveyed by Ipsos said that they trust reviews from other users or customers of a product or service (i.e. Yelp, Amazon reviews, etc.) either a great deal (10%) or a little (42%), almost three times the share who distrust reviews to some extent (18%). These latter respondents may be concerned about fake reviews, which dissuade some consumers from considering brands.
No other information source broke the majority threshold for consumer trust, though a plurality in most cases beyond reviews were neutral, neither trusting nor mistrusting them. Some 4 in 10 respondents said they trust information from companies or brands either a great deal (6%) or a little (34%), placing this source of information above articles shared on social media by friends or acquaintances (29% trusting). Notably, more respondents said they distrust (33%) articles shared on social media than trust them, though a plurality are in the middle.
TV advertising follows a similar fate, with more distrusting the information provided than trusting it (35% and 29%, respectively), but with a plurality (36%) indicating neutrality.
Interestingly, respondents show slightly greater levels of trust for internet search results tailored by an algorithm (31%) than for search results generated by artificial intelligence (AI; 27%). Additionally, while more trust than distrust search results tailored to them by an algorithm, the opposite is true for internet search results generated by AI.
Finally, the least trusted source of information is the influencer. More than twice as many respondents indicate that they distrust (47%) information received from influencers than trust the information (19%).
In comparison with a similar survey carried out 2.5 years earlier, the results indicate that trust in information from companies or brands has risen, as has trust in TV ads and influencers, though the latter to a lesser extent. By contrast, trust in articles shared on social media by friends or acquaintances appears to have dipped slightly.
For more, check out the full Ipsos report on AI here.
About the Data: The results are based on a February survey of 1,109 US adults (18+).
