One-third (33%) of consumers think celebrities have a minimal impact on their purchase decisions, according to recent data from Bluecore. At a time when online shopping habits have never been more on the minds of marketers, the figures illustrate key consumer preferences driving purchases right now.
Of the more than 1,000 respondents asked to rate a list of channels from 1 to 5 based on how they impact purchase decisions (1 = least impactful; 5 = most impactful), the largest share (37%) rated word of mouth as a 5. Some 7 in 10 (68%) rated this channel as a top-2 box, followed by online ads (49%), email (46%) and a mail pamphlet/catalog (40%).
However, when sorting by age, the results indicate that younger consumers are notably more impacted by the top three channels than older consumers. Comparing those younger than age 45 to those who are older, differences can be seen in the influence attributed to online ads (55% vs 30%), email (47% vs. 40%) and word of mouth (71% vs 59%).
When choosing to try a new brand, word of mouth remains the most single most influential channel, per one-quarter of respondents, followed by online ads (23%). Influencers (12%) are cited as the most influential by a greater share of respondents than celebrities (8%).
Consumers are more likely to try out new brands in some apparel and accessories areas than others. They are most likely to do so when buying tops (70%), pants (69%) and shoes (68%), but few are willing to test out new brands for hosiery (17%) and purses (32%).
Among 4 incentives listed, free shipping is the one that will compel by far the greatest share (61%) of consumers to make a purchase online — and it is often used by companies to do just that. By contrast, fewer than 3 in 10 (27%) say that a percentage off incentive is more compelling than free shipping.
The full findings are available here.
About the Data: Findings are based on a Q2 2020 survey of 1,005 US online shoppers who are the primary or shared decision-maker in their household.
