Ciao UK Blog

Results of our latest user survey: 76% prefer online reviews

In our latest research into purchasing influences we wanted to spot the impact of the current economic uncertainties on people’s purchase decision.

The results have highlighted the impact of online peer reviews on sales, with 76% of respondents admitting changing purchase decisions after reading online reviews of the product they were looking to buy.

The survey, which polled 1,223 users, also brought bad news for shop assistants who were deemed as having the least influence on purchases. Only 2% of respondents citing them as having an impact on what products they selected.

There’s an interesting preference for online reviews even over those from your friends: 34% of people said they would choose reviews by people who owned the product over recommendations from friends (19%) when purchasing goods.

Brand names are still an important factor in buying products though, especially in beauty and electrical goods. 80% of women will only purchase branded beauty products, and 83% cited the strength of the brand as a guide when deciding to purchase electronic products such as DVD players and Satellite Navigation devices.

Some more quick facts from the survey:

• 61% choose to purchase CDs, DVD and Books online to take advantage of cheaper prices
• 22% use online shops for clothes, compared to 67% of users in high-street stores
• Overall online spending was still strong, with 25% of Ciao users in UK spending on average £1000 or more per year, followed by 22% spending £500 to £999, 35% £100 to £499 and 18% spending less than £10.

Expert comment: Tom Hyde, E-commerce team leader at Ciao
"People are becoming savvier than ever when it comes to purchasing a product. User review sites are a great way to get impartial information from people who have genuine first-hand experience of the product or service. The fact people are changing their purchase decisions because of what they read in reviews is testament to their success. Brands now more than ever need to be aware of what customers are saying about them online, and take advantage of online communities to interact and engage directly with consumers to address any issues or concerns and secure better reviews in future."

You can download the full report as a PDF if you'd like to know more. We'd also love to hear from you in the comments.

Britain puts its money on sunshine for the Bank Holiday

We've been asking you about your plans for the upcoming Bank Holiday weekend and it sounds like you're determined to enjoy the great outdoors this Bank Holiday weekend – whatever the weather!

Photo by: Mess of Pottage

A massive 74% of Ciao community members surveyed said that they will spend the weekend out and about with friends and family. 25% of people will also be investing in sunscreen before the bank holiday weekend arrives. An impressively optimistic 36% will be purchasing a barbeque to use at the weekend while for 15% the advent of summer means it’s time to get out the camping equipment!

Perhaps most revealing is the amount of money we’re planning to spend:
•    Two thirds of you will be spending over £50 on their weekend plans
•    20% will be spending between £100 and £300 in total
•    3% will be spending a credit-crunch-busting £500 or more

Which one of these do you fit into? Leave us a comment if you're one of the 3% spending £500 or more, we'd love to know what you're planning to do!

May 17th is Internet Day!

This Sunday will be more webby than ever, as we celebrate Internet Day. We've thought about what this means for Ciao users and produced some light-hearted profiles of common types of internet users. Do you think you fit into any of these (go on - be honest!) or have we missed any out? Please leave a comment if you've got something to say.

The optimistic one: Normally has a very positive approach to comments. Likes giving advice and recommendations to others; if there is something he dislikes he doesn't say it openly, just mentions “some” things that could improve or focuses on the positive stuff.

The grumpy one: Complains about everything. Companies are afraid of this one because any product or service is inevitably a disappointment. He won't stop until his words are read by every member of his network!

The techie one: Likes to stay ahead of the pack. His comments are, mostly, about gadgets or technological things. He uses hi-tech jargon and if he can he is happy to dismantle a favourite gadget in front of the camera.

The friendly one: Focussed on making friends through the web. He likes to spread positive feedback about users more than he likes to boast about himself. Always available and happy to share his details across other social networks.

The 2.0 one: You'll spot this one very easily because his comments are full of links to other blogs, pages or reviews. Takes each interaction very seriously and participates in many forums.

The 1.0 one: Unlike the 2.0 one, he only recently started using the internet. Often asking questions, like "what happens when I double click on the picture?"

The know-it-all: He believes he is always right and he doesn’t like to be contradicted. If someone leaves a comment but disagrees with what he says, he tends to answer in a strong and angry tone!

So admit it… which one are you? Leave a comment below...

Animated movie 'Up' by Pixar makes history at Cannes

The Cannes Film Festival opens today, and it’s the biggest event in the movie calendar since The Oscars in February.

The festival will showcase many of this summer’s high profile films, with stars in attendance including Brad Pitt, Penelope Cruz, Quentin Tarantino and Jonny Depp. We expect these films will all be getting reviews later this year on Ciao once they are released into our local cinemas.

There’s a historic moment this year, when a 3D film called 'Up' made by Pixar will open the festival. This is the first time an animated film has opened the festival in its history.

To celebrate, here are a few links to other 3D films reviewed on Ciao that you might be interested in watching this weekend with some popcorn and a pizza:

• Journey To The Centre Of The Earth 3D
• Shrek – The Story Continues
• Spy Kids 3D: Game Over
• My Bloody Valentine 3D
• The Adventures of Shark Boy and Lava Girl
• Scar 3

Seen a 3D film that you loved or hated, but it’s not featured in our list? We’d love to hear what it was so please leave a comment.

Brands: Are you ignoring what your customers say online?

Last week we visited Internet World and surveyed many of the attendees to understand what people currently think about customer reviews and customer feedback. Ciao has been enabling customer reviews online for over 10 years, so we thought most people would understand that online feedback is vital for successful products.

We were surprised by how many brands still aren't making the most of customer feedback.

Many organisations are not engaging correctly with criticism of their brand online. 14% of those surveyed choose to either moderate or delete online criticism of their organisation or product, while 4% ignore it.

The importance of community engagement was highlighted as a key topic, with over half (52%) naming peer recommendation as the most important influence on their customer or end user.

Some more statistics we learned from the event:
•    69% believe that user generated content (personal reviews, video footage etc) helps improve sales
•    71% believe input from customers on online forums is of benefit to their business
•    73% think peer recommendations are very important to their customer/end user
•    87% consider the rising popularity of consumer review sites a positive development for brands and retailers
•    Three quarters respond to online criticism of their product or organisation, but only half do so in a public forum

We asked Tom Hyde, our E-Commerce teamleader at Ciao UK, to comment: “Finding the cheapest price is not enough for today’s consumer. They are looking out for much more than just the way they spend their money: it’s about where they spend it, on what products, the value their purchase offers and more. In this sense, comparison shopping has enormous responsibility in providing the best information and prices to a more eager and savvy user”.

“Innovative companies, especially retailers, need to have the courage to address their end user’s comments directly instead of adopting an instinctively defensive demeanour. This kind of online community offers a great opportunity to interact and engage directly with consumers and the things that matter most to them.

Tom highlights the way that HP is using customer feedback as a constructive model for new products: “On our German platform HP is currently running a pre-testing campaign where they directly get helpful user's opinions by a product test among a selected pool of members before market launch of HP’s latest printer. This is an excellent way marketers can and should use UGC rather than ignoring its potential. Consumers increasingly count on the opinions of other consumers as an ideal supplement to articles and tests among professional media. HP took a step forward in gaining direct contact with their target group and benefit from the multiplier's effect of these test results which will be then published as reviews”.

Have you seen any other evidence of brands ignoring customer feedback and then feeling the effects?

Ciao's User Generated Content presentation at Internet World

On Wednesday 29^th April, Ciao’s UK team-leader of e-commerce Tom Hyde presented to a full house of delegates at the Internet World expo, talking about how user generated content can help retailers drive sales. Tom discussed some of the main reasons why this has become such a key issue to e-tailers and offered delegates tips on how best to engage with UGC moving forward.

The main theme of the presentation was ‘Trust + Information = Conversion‘.

Tom urged etailers to recognise that consumers trust the reviews of their peers more than ever in the current economic climate and that their importance should not be underestimated. He noted that a wealth of information clearly presented to the consumer will help with purchasing decisions: where the consumer trusts the information they’ve received when comparing potential purchases, they feel more empowered to make the correct choice, and the likelihood of purchase increases.

Comments from the floor were a particular highlight of the session. One delegate raised the question of the difference between an expert/journalist review and that produced via user-generated content. Tom replied that reviews written by experts or journalists act as a useful guide to technical specifics, whereas a thorough review by an amateur will answer more practical questions e.g. whether the product is pocket-sized and what their personal experience was like.

Another question raised by delegates was how to detect reviewers plugging their own products rather than offering unbiased advice. Tom suggested a number of tips which included looking to see how many reviews they have written and on how frequent a basis – ‘fake’ reviewers often give themselves away through the tone and periodic nature of their posts. The community itself also detects unusual reviews and reviewers and thus helps the community to improve the reliability of the content generated on the site. 

We will be uploading a video of some of the highlights of Tom’s speech soon, so watch this space for more!