Accentuate the Positive, Eliminate the Negative...

New Cone research reveals 80% of consumers have changed their minds about purchasing a recommended product or service based solely on negative information they found online. This is up from just 67% of consumers who said the same in 2010. Online information, a trustworthy source for 89% of consumers, has the power to make or break a product recommendation, concludes the report.

Positive information has a similar effect on decision making, with 87% of consumers agreeing a favorable review has confirmed their decision to purchase. But, negative information is gaining traction and is now just as powerful in tipping the scales against a recommended purchase.

Bill Fleishman, president, Cone, says that "... online content on buying decisions cannot be ignored... marketers must... connect with those who have significant influence over their peers and will champion the brand message."

Easy access to the Internet sends more consumers online to verify purchase recommendations. As compared to one year ago, consumers are more likely to purchase when they can find online recommendations to support offline advice (85% versus 77%).

The report says that this year-over-year increase in online verification may be attributed to near-universal access to the Internet and the pervasiveness of the smartphone. Today, online product or service information is literally at consumers' fingertips with 59% reporting that they are more likely to research recommended products online because they can easily access applications on their mobile phones, and 81% crediting wide-spread access to the Internet.

Consumers turn to product/service information and customer reviews, but blogs are gaining traction.

The increase in online purchase verification may also be attributed to careful spending. Americans are nearly 25% more likely to verify recommendations for high-cost purchases, such as cars, today than they were in 2010 (89% today vs. 72%), while moderate- and low-cost purchases did not experience the same jump.

Mike Hollywood, director of New Media, Cone, concludes that "... consumers want reassurance... personal recommendations alone are not enough to guarantee a purchase... word-of-mouth channels and the adoption of online verification have changed the marketing landscape... "

The 2011 Cone Online Influence Trend Tracker presents the findings of an online survey conducted June 27-29, 2011 by ORC International among a representative U.S. sample of adults. The margin of error associated with a sample of this size is ±3%.

(Source: The Center For Media Research, 09/13/11)