Study: 85% say recommendations and reviews are important when purchasing

Despite brands spending 222% more on advertising than they did a decade ago, today’s oversaturation of traditional ads and too-good-to-be-true value propositions has made shoppers sceptical and more discerning.

Meanwhile, hyper fatigue has inspired consumers to reprioritise the community and take a more “old-school” approach to shopping: asking friends and family for their recommendations. In fact, 85% of consumers say recommendations and reviews are important to their buying decisions. 

This is according to impact.com's "Customer referral marketing in Singapore: consumer perspective" research where it surveyed 505 online shoppers older than 18 across Singapore. 

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In 2024, nearly a third of shoppers say they're more likely to buy something recommended by someone they know, as compared to last year. Additionally, 38% of customers are more likely to buy something based on online review than they were in 2023. 

When looking for product information, consumers trust someone they know the most, with trust in online reviews continuing to grow. Feedback gives consumers confidence in decision-making and provides insights on whether the product would satisfy their needs. 

This is especially true for young millennials aged 28 to 35, where 96% of product discovery is through conversations. 

Meanwhile, 94% of Gen Zers aged 18 to 27 and young millennials make purchase decisions based on referrals from someone they know. 

To tap into this, brands can look into referral codes and loyalty programs. The study said that 68% of referrers report that they prefer when they, and the person they’re referring, both receive a reward. 46% of consumers participating in referral programs have also made two to three successful referrals, revealing that referral programmes are still a blue ocean for brands. 

While brands in any industry can start a referral programme, some products and services offer a greater opportunity than others to leverage this effective marketing channel. Such industries include health and beauty products (45%), travel (44%), electronics (41%) and in-person services (41%). 

Factors that could influence loyalty to brands include quality of the product or service (55%), pricing (49%), consistency of brand experience (46%) and recognition of loyalty (46%). 

Rounding out the bottoms are the experience the referred person had with the brand (40%), experience with the referral programme processes (33%) and brand transparency (30%).

“Today’s modern buyer no longer trusts conventional advertising techniques; they're seeking out reviews and recommendations from people they can trust and searching social media where they can see the product being used,” said Antoine Gross, general manager for Southeast Asia and India at impact.com.

“And we’re seeing that referrers aren’t just making recommendations for their own benefit, but they’re altruistically helping their network access great products and benefits. It's a type of partnership that feels less transactional, and driven more by genuine care and connection, which adds a unique depth to our offering," he added. 

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