Reviews matter more: Switzerland is skeptical about online advertising and influencers

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In a survey released Tuesday by the GFS Zurich research institute and the Northwest Swiss University of Applied Sciences (FHNW), only 5 percent said they had recently purchased a product as a result of impressive advertising. According to the research, consumers are least influenced by social media sources such as influencers.

But even paid ads only work to a limited extent: About two-fifths of respondents trust paid ads less than free ones. On the other hand, information provided by online retailers and product manufacturers is more important for purchasing decisions. A large proportion of those surveyed also look at reviews from other customers.

In general, comparison portals such as Comparis and branded websites have high trust, while reviews and YouTube contributions are classified as moderately trustworthy.

Purchasing behavior also differs greatly depending on the product category: for electronics or garden furniture, for example, more customers (45% and 29%, respectively) are getting the information entirely online (16% and 11%, respectively). Therefore, it is important to choose the right channels for advertising campaigns, write the authors of the study.

According to the information, about two-fifths of survey respondents receive information offline only, about a quarter online only, and about one-tenth both online and offline. 22 percent of respondents said they had never researched a product before purchasing it.

As part of the study, 1001 adults from German- and French-speaking Switzerland were interviewed in November 2022. Information was collected on pre-purchase information behavior, trust in digital information sources, and perception of target audience-specific campaigns.

(SDA)

Source :Blick