Report: Three R's influence online shoppers

School children may learn more than their 'Three R's' - Read, wRiting and aRithmethic - these days but the Three R's are still influencing online shoppers. According to a new report from Bazaarvoice and JupiterResearch online Ratings, Recommendations and Reviews continue to greatly influence the buying decisions of online shoppers.

by Kristina Knight

The study found that while nearly half (48%) of online shoppers plan to buy less this year, more than half (61%) could be influenced to buy a product based on a positive review, rating or recommendation. This stat could be the difference for many etailing hubs as the economy begins it's rebound in 2009, particularly for bigger purchases.

Of all of the retail categories, the biggest categories - automotive, travel and consumer electronics - are the areas consumers are least likely to spend money in; so investing in a review product or review-heavy campaign could help spur the interest of consumers who might want a product but feel they don't have the expendable cash to buy it.

They study also found that consumers are looking to more hubs to find the product information they want. In addition to store websites (89% use), consumers are searching for information (86%), visiting manufacturer websites (78%) and visiting user review/ratings websites (77%).

Tags: Bazaarvoice, consumer recommendations, consumer reviews, ecommerce, JupiterResearch, online reviews, online shopping, product ratings