March 29th, 2023, Bhavika Bansal
In a recent YouGov Surveys: Serviced poll of 18 international markets we explore the different ways in which consumers gather information before going to see a movie at the theatre.
The data reveals that nearly three-fifths of consumers globally (58%) gather information by speaking to friends and/or family members, making this the most preferred method of pre-purchase research for movies at the theatre. This is followed by 37% of consumers who prefer written consumer reviews on review sites and 31% who use video reviews on websites like YouTube.
While the proportion of consumers who prefer speaking to friends and family to choose a movie to watch at the theatre in Europe (60%) and North America (59%) outpaces the global average, consumers in the UAE are far less likely to feel the same (49%).
On the other hand, at 45%, consumers across APAC markets are significantly more likely than their counterparts in other regions to rely on written consumer reviews.
Consumers in the UAE (30%) are the most likely of those in all regions to prefer to take in the views of professional experts like movie critics and journalists before choosing which movie to watch at the theatre.
Consumers in the east (UAE, 19%; APAC, 12%) are almost twice as likely as their Western counterparts (Europe, 6%; North America, 8%) to gather information about movies by speaking to sales executives either at the theatre, online or on the phone.
Looking at the data more closely by age and gender demographics reveals some more interesting nuances.
Our female respondents (63%) are significantly more likely than our male respondents (52%) to rely on the opinions of friends and/or family to make their decision about which movies to watch.
While both men and women are equally likely to use written consumer reviews (37% for both), a quarter of our male respondents (25%) prefer reviews by professionals like movie critics, compared to a fifth of their female counterparts (20%).
Consumers aged above 55 are the most likely of all age groups to take into account the views of friends and/or family (68%).
Our 25-34-year-old respondents (39%) are equally likely to gather information from written consumer reviews as they are from video reviews by members of the public.
18-24-year-olds and 25-34-year-olds are equally likely to prefer professional movie reviews (26% for both) and consulting a brand’s website (18%). Similarly, respondents aged 25-34 and 35-44 are equally likely to gather information about movies at the theatre by speaking to sales executives either at the theatre, online or on the phone.
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Methodology: YouGov Surveys: Serviced provide quick survey results from nationally representative or targeted audiences in multiple markets. The data is based on surveys of adults aged 18+ years in 18 markets with sample sizes varying between 512 and 2,034 for each market. All surveys were conducted online in February 2023. Data from each market uses a nationally representative sample apart from Mexico and India, which use urban representative samples, and Indonesia and Hong Kong, which use online representative samples. Learn more about YouGov Surveys: Serviced.