Need a new whatchamacallit? Who do you trust for a recommendation?

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   tsmogposted 8 months ago

   Which Product Recommendation Sources Do Consumers Trust the Most? (U.S. based)
   by Marketing Charts (Apr 1, 2024)
   https://www.marketingcharts.com/brand-r … 7150813597
   
   For the Ipsos survey methodology and results go to link next:
   https://www.ipsos.com/sites/default/fil … e%2093.pdf
   
   You will get an idea of peoples knowledge of AI today.
   
   Excerpt
   "Almost 9 in 10 (89% of) consumers either strongly (32%) or somewhat (58%) agree that they trust product recommendations from friends/family, making them the most trusted source of recommendations, according to new survey results [pdf] from Ipsos."
   
   Further along another excerpt
   "Meanwhile, about half (51%) agree that they trust product recommendations from a specific store or website’s artificial intelligence (AI) tools, based on their purchase history. Separate research indicates that about 4 in 10 consumers would be likely to buy a product recommended to them online (such as in their feed or based on their behavior). A study prior to that found that even a click on a recommended product on an e-commerce page was associated with lifts in performance, ranging from a higher purchase rate within the session to a higher purchase rate in a return session.
   
   This latest survey suggests that consumers are more trusting of the AI tools used by stores and websites than by general AI tools. Just 38% agreed that they trust product recommendations from general AI applications such as ChatGPT and Bard."
   
   Revealing?
   
   Do you think the AI trend applies to generations differently? In other words the senior crowd doesn't trust AI while the younger generations do?
   
   If you need something what is your go to method of discovery for what to get, if you don't mind sharing?
   
   Any thoughts to share?

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2. 91

   Nathanvilleposted 8 months ago

   Interesting question; your post caught my eye because we have the ‘Which?’ magazine in the UK, which is extremely popular, extremely trusted and extremely useful – The only down side is that it cost £10 ($12.50) per month membership to access their data; £5 for the first month, with the option to cancel the subscription at any time.
   
   But as you have to pay to get the valuable information from ‘Which?’, most Brits resort to other sources for recommendations.  In that respect, I couldn’t fine an UK equivalent to your links, but I did find this YouGov article that compares the UK to USA on the matter – so that might make some interesting reading?
   
   https://yougov.co.uk/technology/article … view-sites
   
   As regards the ‘Which?’ magazine; if I can’t get personal recommendations from family and friends then I will look for a cross section of ‘independent’ reviews e.g. compare ‘independent reviews’ from various sources, including ‘Trust Pilot’; and once I’ve narrowed down my choice look for reviews of the specific ‘Make’/Model on YouTube.
   
   That being said, just last month my son decided to buy a pop-up gazebo for when he displays his artwork (photography) at arts and crafts fairs; but on doing my usual research on the web it quickly become clear that over 90% of them have serious design flaws – So in the end I’ve paid £5 ($6) to subscribe to ‘Which?’ for one month to get their recommendations e.g. out of all the pop-up gazebos that they tested from Amazon, only two past their stringent tests.  So obviously we opted to buy one of the two recommended by ‘Which?’.
   
   The ‘Which?’ magazine founded in the UK in 1957; promotes informed consumer choice in the purchase of goods and services by testing products, highlighting inferior products or services, raising awareness of consumer rights, and offering independent advice; making them an invaluable and reliable source.
   
   Obviously I can’t post any ‘Which? Reviews’ videos here because you have to be a member to see them; but there are a small number of ‘free access’ videos from ‘Which?’ which can be quite entertaining and educational – such as this video which reviews an ‘app’ that helps people in Britain to buy surplus food cheaply (food which would otherwise end up in landfill waste sites):  https://youtu.be/r1xJDne1rNI

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      tsmogposted 8 months agoin reply to this

      Thanks, enlightening, Arthur!
      
      Based on the YouGov article/surveys it appears overall the U.K. and U.S. probably could project it is a world trend since overall they were the same for with the last graphic. At least that is the way I see it.
      
      'Which?' sounds like they have integrity and take their mission seriously. Certainly filling a need in the U.K. society. Capitalism at its best.
      
      I know we have at least one similar organization/business with a similar mission statement. It is 'Consumer Reports'. They have been around since 1936. Though they are an independent nonprofit organization they still filled a need by capitalizing on that.
      
      For a peek with a little background link next;
      https://www.consumerreports.org/cro/abo … /index.htm

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         Nathanvilleposted 8 months agoin reply to this

         Yep, that’s the impression I got e.g. the similarity between the USA & UK, and that perhaps (quite logically) it’s a similar pattern worldwide.
         
         Cool, yes Consumer Reports in America does seem very similar to Which? In the UK; the only real difference is in the cost of Membership e.g. $59 per year for ‘Consumer Reports’ compared to $150 per year for Which? Membership in the UK.
         
         The bulk of Which? income does come from its membership; which helps to fund its advocacy activity and inform the public about consumer issues. 
         
         And like the American Consumer Reports; Which? maintains its independence by not accepting advertising, and the organisation receives no government funding.
         
         It’s also the largest consumer organisation in the UK, which with over 573,000 subscribers to its magazine, has a similar level of membership ratio to population size as the American ‘Consumer Reports’.
         
         In fact, for business to be awarded ‘Which?’ of the year, it’s good free publicity for them e.g. my energy supplier, ‘Octopus Energy’ has been award as the ‘Best Energy Supplier) for 7 years running (see image below/screen dump from my Energy Company website); plus, as shown on the screen dump below, Octopus Energy has also been awarded best ‘Energy Supplier’ by Uswitch in 2018, 2020, 2021 and 2023, and picked up an ‘Ethical’ award from ‘Good Shopping Guide’.  So these Awards are something for Octopus Energy to be ‘proud of’, and it’s all good free publicity for ‘Octopus Energy’.
         
         ‘U Switch’ is a free website that compares different suppliers for you and offers the best deals available, with a click of just a few buttons. I used U Switch when I wanted to change my ‘House and Contents’ insurance Company; but you can use U Switch for finding the best car insurance, energy company etc.  https://youtu.be/3REmEQx4jUg
         
         

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