Social Media Plays a Limited Role in Consumers’ Purchase Decisions

Study of 6,000 U.S. Consumers Examines How Consumers Use Social Media Channels to Purchase
Computers, Cell Phones, TVs, Insurance Policies, Health Plans, and Credit Cards.

Waban, MA, June 13, 2011 --(PR.com)-- A new research report published by Temkin Group, Social
Media's Limited Affect On Purchase Decisions, examines how influential social media channels are in the
decisions that consumers make about what they purchase. The research is based on a survey of 6,000 US
consumers, digging into purchases they have made during the previous 60 days. The analysis uncovered
that social media channels like Facebook and Twitter have a weak level of influence in the purchase of
computers, cell phones, TVs, insurance policies, health plans, and credit cards.

“Social media gets a lot of press, but it's not yet heavily influencing what consumers buy,” states Bruce
Temkin, author of the report and Managing Partner of Temkin Group.

The research uses the Temkin Purchase Influence Index (TPII) to gauge the relative influence of various
information sources on different types of purchases. The TPII was calculated for three types of social
interactions: comments on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, ratings and review sites, and
discussions with friends and family. For most purchases, these social interactions have a weak or
moderate influence on consumers' decisions. Ratings and review sites, however, have a strong influence
on the purchase of TVs and computers.

While the overall results show very few areas where social media has a strong influence on these
purchases, a deeper analysis of consumers by age, income, ethnicity, and education uncovers pockets of
stronger (and weaker) social media influence.

According to Temkin: “Social media has a widely different affect across customer segments. Companies
need to understand how their customers make decisions; and support those needs.”

This report can be accessed from the Temkin Group website at http://www.temkingroup.com or from the
blog, Customer Experience Matters, at http://experiencematters.wordpress.com. In addition, data from the
ratings can be accessed at the Temkin Ratings website, http://www.temkinratings.com.

For more information about Temkin Group, visit http://www.temkingroup.com.

###

Page 1/2
PR.com Press Release Distribution Terms of Use
Contact Information:
Temkin Group
Bruce Temkin
617-916-2075
bruce@temkingroup.com
www.temkingroup.com

Online Version of Press Release:

You can read the online version of this press release at: http://www.pr.com/press-release/331350

Page 2/2
PR.com Press Release Distribution Terms of Use