Strangers, not celebrities, are convincing shoppers to buy online

Rakshnna Pattabiraman

15th Sep 2023

Australian shoppers are overwhelmingly buying products based on recommendations made by everyday social media users, reveals a new study by Bazaarvoice.

The product review and user-generated content website conducted research surveying 1008 Australian shoppers and found 39 per cent have purchased a product based on the recommendations made by regular social media users while six per cent said celebrity influencers impacted their purchase.

Though only 29 per cent of Australian shoppers have heard of the trend of ‘deinfluencing’, 63 per cent of respondents said they follow recommendations made by everyday social media users.

By social media platform, TikTok (29 per cent) was the most used platform by Australians to discover new products followed by Instagram (24 per cent) and Facebook (23 per cent).

Kate Musgrove, APAC MD at Bazaarvoice, said the “appeal of big celebrities or influencers” has diminished and has given a louder voice to everyday consumers.

“While most of us are not celebrities, all of us are shoppers, and we want to hear about the experiences of real, authentic shoppers.

“We find these people more trustworthy and are more likely to purchase products based on their recommendations.”

The findings also demonstrate that Australian brands and retailers must “recognise” that social media continues to “evolve” and that marketers must pay closer attention to regular consumers’ opinions.