Survey: How Do Consumers Show Brand Love Online?

In the ever-shifting world of online reviews, consumers rule. Whether it’s reading or writing a 5-star or a 1-star review, consumers have come to rely more each year on what other shoppers say online about their potential purchase.

A survey from Chatmeter conducted earlier this year, “How Do Consumers Show Brand Love Online?” compiled and analyzed responses from 1,369 people who had used an online review in the past 12 months and who completed all 31 questions.

The report begins with six “notable findings,” outlined below. For the full survey results, click here.

1) Reviews are part of everyday decision-making

• Nine of 10 (89%) respondents used online reviews to evaluate quality

• Two-thirds (67%) said online reviews are an important part of deciding what to buy and want specific details such as pricing, features, options, and quality.

• Respondents showed a healthy skepticism of influencers, with nearly 4 in 10 (37.5%) distrusting them.

2) Reviews are alive and well on social media

After Amazon (77%) and Google (62%), social media sites, at 51%, were the most popular places to read and post reviews among respondents; and almost 25% had used Twitter to post a compliment or a complaint about a company.

3) Review timeliness is important

More than half (56%) of respondents said reviews had to be posted within the past month to be relevant; only 6% said that when a review is posted doesn’t matter.

4) Brands can build better relationships with customers

• Six in 10 (58%) said they want brands to acknowledge their comments and fix problems quickly.

• Half (51%) said they want brands to make it easier to search and filter reviews by factors they care about (location, stars, product features, etc.).

• Customers will forgive mistakes when brands address their complaints: three-quarters (76%) said they would update a negative review if a company satisfied their complaint.

• Positive experience matters: 74% of respondents who said they rarely leave online reviews would consider doing so after a great experience.

5) Consumers like new tech

• Four in 10 (39%) liked the idea of using technology like ChatGPT for review information, and 3 in 10 (30%) like the idea of using the Metaverse for review information.

6) New review channels are emerging

Keep your team alert to changing consumer preferences: 1 in 8 (almost 13%) of respondents said they are using gaming platforms like Roblox or games like Fortnite for reviews, and more than 20% said they use chat tools.

For the full report—and a lot more stats from the Chatmeter survey—download it here.