September 28th, 2023, Lesley Simeon
Consumers consult social media product reviews for a variety of products - but are reviews key when buying financial products and services? In this piece, we discuss findings of a recent YouGov survey that asked consumers across 18 international markets about how likely they are to look up product reviews for financial products or services.
Polling data shows that food and clothing or shoes are the top categories of products (27% each) consumers would watch reviews for on social media. Gadgets/electronics are at a close second (26%).
As for financial products or services, the global average across all markets surveyed stands at 14%.
Further YouGov data suggests that younger consumers are more likely than older ones to watch product reviews for financial products or services. At nearly two in ten (18%) consumers, 25- to 34-year-olds are most likely to do so, followed by 18- to 24-year-olds (16%). Fewer than one in ten (9%) consumers aged 55 years and above refer to reviews of financial products or services - making them the age group least likely to do so.
Urban India, Mexico and Hong Kong claim largest share of consumers who watch reviews for financial products or services
More than three in ten consumers in India, Mexico and Hong Kong (31% each) watch social media reviews for financial products or services. On the other hand, consumers in the US (5%) and Great Britain (4%) are the least likely to watch social media reviews for financial products or services.
All of the Asian markets surveyed are among the top six in our list of markets where consumers are most likely to watch reviews for financial services and products. Singapore accounts for the lowest share of consumers in this region (18%) who refer to product reviews for financial services or products.
More than a quarter of consumers (27% each) in UAE and Indonesia watch product reviews for financial products or services.
In Europe, Poland leads (17%) while France and Germany (7% each) record the lowest figures in the region.
The Nordics also aren’t too keen on reviews of financial products or services - just over one in ten consumers (12%) in Sweden do so, while in Denmark the proportion stands at 7%.
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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 437 and 2045 for each market. All surveys were conducted online in June 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.
Photo by John Schnobrich on Unsplash