User Generated Content: Everything You Need to Know for E-commerce

Visual commerce might seem like yet another buzzword invented by clever marketers to sell the idea that your online store needs more visual content. Except there’s more to it. To understand why visual commerce matters, you need to have a look first into user generated content. We rarely buy anything nowadays before consulting social media. We watch video reviews on YouTube, browse photos on Instagram, and search consumer reviews to make sure we’re getting our money’s worth with each purchase. All this is user generated content.

Here’s a roundup of stats that show growing importance of user generated content for e-commerce.

User Generated Content Is Everywhere

User generated content started getting momentum in 2005 when social media platforms made sharing messages, photos, reviews, and videos easy and convenient.

• By 2013, about 114.5 million people have contributed to user generated content.
• Visuals are everything. Over 1.8 billion of photos are uploaded and shared by consumers on social media daily.
• 350 million of photos are uploaded daily on Facebook and 80 million on Instagram, along with 432,000 hours of videos on YouTube.
• 54% of adult consumers in the US have uploaded original photos and videos on social media at least once.
• According to SEMRush, 86% of businesses now use user-generated content in some way in their marketing efforts.
• 25% of search results for top 20 of the world’s brands link to user generated content.
• User generated videos on YouTube get 10x more views than videos made by brands.
• According to Content Marketing Institute, 78% of B2C companies were planning to use UGC in their marketing campaigns in 2015.
• Consumers spend on average 5.4 hours per day with user generated content.

UGC Is Popular Because It’s Trustworthy

• 92% of consumers worldwide say they trust word-of-mouth more than any kind of advertising.
• According to a report by Forrester, 70% of consumers consider product and brand recommendations from their social circles trustworthy. 46% trust online reviews posted by other customers. In comparison, only 10% trust banner ads on websites.
• 70% of consumers place reviews by other customers above professionally written marketing content.
• Customer-made reviews about a product are trusted 12x more than ads.
• When looking for information about a product, 51% of US consumers trust user generated content more than other information on a company website.
• It is estimated that influencers represent one-fifth of the consumer population and influence purchases of 74% of the population.
• Millennial consumers trust information from user generated content 50% more than information from mainstream media sources.
• 71% of consumers say that user-generated product reviews make them feel more comfortable buying a product.

UGC Works in Convincing Shoppers to Buy

• 82% of shoppers say that user generated content is extremely valuable when deciding on purchases.
• Brand engagement rises by 28% when consumers are exposed to both professional and user generated content.
• Brands see 25% increase in conversions when user-generated photos are used instead of professionally made photos by brands.
• 50% of shoppers find UGC more memorable than content produced by brands.
• Consumer reviews create 74% increase in product conversion.
• When UGC is included in advertising, online stores see 4x higher click-through rates and 50% drop in cost-per-click.
• UGC can improve conversion rates: 6.4% for clothing, 2.4x for jewelry, 1.7x for footwear and 1.6x for products in beauty and consumer electronics verticals.
• When consumers see UGC while shopping, conversion rate goes up 4.6%. When they interact with user generated content, conversion rate increases 9.6%.

UGC Is Content Magnet for Millennials

• 84% of millennials say that user generated content on a company website has some influence on their purchases. The same thing is valid for 70% of Baby Boomers.
• 86% of millennials say that UGC is a good indicator of a brand quality.
• After researching purchases online, 52% of millennials are more likely to buy online than in physical stores (48%).
• 51% of millennials say that consumer-made reviews on company sites have a greater influence on what they buy than recommendations from friends and family.
• Millennials are 3x more likely than Baby Boomers to search product recommendations and what to buy on social media.
• 64% of millennials feel that companies should offer more ways for them to share feedback about products and brands online.
• 87% of millennials appreciate the authenticity of UGC and prefer when companies don’t edit reviews for grammar and spelling.
• 65% of social media users ages 18–24 take into consideration information about products on social media before buying.
• Millennials (age 25 and above) and Gen X consumers contribute to 70% of all user generated content online.
• 71% of millennials engage with social media and user generated content daily.
• Millennials find UGC 35% more memorable than content from mainstream sources.
• Millennials report that UGC is 20% more influential in their choice of purchases than other media.

UGC is Most Effective In Visual Form

• 64% of marketers now use UGC in the form of photos and videos in earned marketing channels (more than any other types of visuals).
• Content with relevant images gets 94% more views than plain text.
• 32% of shoppers would buy apparel online if online stores showed user-generated photos of real customers wearing garments.
• 66% of shoppers in the UK and 63% of shoppers in the US trust user-generated product photos more than photos made by the brands and retailers.
• 67% of consumers turn to video reviews at least once before making a purchase. 49% go to YouTube for more information about a product.
• Conversion rate increases up to 10% when visual user generated content is present on a shopper’s path to purchase.
• 38% of marketers say that UGC in the form of photos and videos performs well on a desktop. 42.5% says it performs well on mobile.
• Purchase intent increases by 97% when consumers enjoy product videos.
• 52% of marketers agree that video is the form of content with the best ROI.

How UGC Affects Purchases

• 48% of consumers say that UGC is a great way to discover new products, brands, and retailers.
• 41% of shoppers need only 1 to 4 user-generated product reviews to be influenced to buy.
• 69% of consumers trust user-generated reviews about clothing, household goods, and personal care products. 68% trust reviews about computers and electronics. 64% trust reviews for children products. Over 50% trust reviews on healthcare products, children products, and food.
• More than 59% of millennial shoppers reach out for user generated content before buying major consumer electronics. 53% search for it before buying major appliances, 46% before buying mobile phones.
• Demand for user generated content in the live gaming category grows 122% year over year.
• The most influential user-generated product reviews feature customer personal stories (80%) and product pro’s and con’s (71%).
• 59% of shoppers use smartphones at home to view user-generated product reviews and 54% use laptops.
• Sites featuring UGC see 20% increase in repeat visits and up to 90% increase in the time spent on the site.