The latest edition of The Conversation Index is based on an analysis of sample data from the Bazaarvoice network, including more than 57 million reviews and 35 billion product page views as well as supplemental data obtained via an April 2015 survey conducted by Bazaarvoice using Google Consumer Surveys.
Buyers who research online and buy offline (ROBO) are a new marketing opportunity for retailers: Fifty-four percent of surveyed consumers aged 25-34, and nearly half of consumers in the 35-44 and 45-54 age brackets, state that online CGC has an influence on their in-store purchases. Even among consumers aged 55-64, 40% acknowledge that CGC plays a factor in their decision-making process.
CGC plays an equally significant role in purchases of high- and low-consideration purchases: For relatively low-dollar purchases such as those common in the food and beverage industry, site visitors who use CGC buy 73% more often than those who did not. Likewise, high-value purchases such as those among automotive retailers and brands have seen as much as an 86% and 97% lift in offline sales conversion, respectively, among consumers who used CGC compared to those who didn't.
Sara Spivey, chief marketing officer at Bazaarvoice: "The information that guides purchase decisions is no longer contained in a single channel, yet brands still struggle to link the online and offline experiences for their consumers. CGC provides the bridge between the in-store and online experiences and the means to pivot from a shopping environment based on company branding to one informed by consumer experience."
Source: Bazaarvoice
