Before you've even had your first cup of coffee, you've already seen more than a dozen ads. By lunchtime, the number has likely surpassed one thousand. Americans see between 4,000 and 10,000 advertisements a day. Inundated with choices and overwhelmed by the sheer volume of ads, today’s savvy consumers look for ways to filter out the noise.
How do they filter? By seeking out information and brands they trust. According to a 2018 research by PwC, one in three shoppers identified ‘trust in brand' as one of the top three influencers in their purchase decisions. They want to know: What is real? Who can I believe? The number one way consumers establish trust in their purchases is by using YouTube in their shopping journey.
Talk Shoppe recently partnered with YouTube to find out how people feel about the ads that have become an unavoidable part of their online lives and how important YouTube is to their purchasing experience. We spoke with 2,000 streaming video consumers in the U.S. to discover: What methods do they use to find new brands and services? What resources are they using throughout their shopping journey? How do they feel about items purchased as a result of online advertising? What factors have the most significant impact on their ultimate purchase decisions?
We discovered:
Shoppers Seek Honest Information and “Feeling Good” About Purchases Above All Else
Trust Must Be Earned Across All Content Types
People are More Satisfied With Purchases They Research Online
For Some Platforms, Viewers’ Perceptions Have a Halo Effect on Advertisers
Our research uncovered all this and more. Throughout this blog post, we'll highlight how YouTube uniquely influences consumers in ways that foster deep trust and confidence in your brand. Let's dive in.
1. Shoppers Seek Honest Information and “Feeling Good” About Purchases Above All Else
While discovery is a crucial part of the shopping experience, consumers demand touchpoints during their journey before arriving at a final decision. When we asked participants how YouTube delivers on their shopping needs, two of its top strengths were helping shoppers “find honest information” (69%) and “feel good about the purchase I made” (70%), which also happen to be the top two things shoppers seek. But YouTube doesn't stop being valuable to the consumer there–YouTube is also significantly more likely than the competitive average to help shoppers find things they won't regret buying (61%) and find brands they love (66%).
I'm fine with just learning about a product in a quick video on Instagram, but then after that maybe I would go to YouTube or a different page to learn more. If there's a product I've never heard about or anything like that, and then just see a video on TikTok, I'm not going to go buy it, I'm going to do more research. -Female, 19, New York
2. Trust Must Be Earned Across All Content Types
Trust is something that’s established over time through many positive experiences. Our participants agree that YouTube is the #1 platform they trust. And this trust in YouTube spans all content types: YouTube has the most-trusted posts, videos, and reviews from “regular people,” and the most-trusted influencer content (both sponsored and non-sponsored). Viewers also have significantly more trust in the ads they see on YouTube than the competitive average.
Consumer trust is bolstered by the perception that YouTube creators are objective. Viewers may know a video is sponsored, but they still believe that creators will be honest in their views—this trustworthiness is not extended to other social media platforms.
I feel like TikTok is not as trustworthy as YouTube, it’s just so quick and I could just say whatever quickly. Somebody could lie for 20 minutes, but I feel like it’s a lot harder to lie for 20 minutes than it is to lie for 30 seconds." - Female, 35, Georgia
3. People Are More Satisfied With Purchases They Research Online
Buying something impulsively can seem spontaneous and fun–impulse shopping has been linked to high levels of dopamine in the brain, also known as the “happiness chemical.” But the quick hit of pleasure an impulse buy delivers can quickly turn to regret. Our research shows that 1 in 5 shoppers report feeling bad after making an impulse purchase, with Gen Z consumers reporting even higher at 1 in 4. Thirty-two percent of Gen Z viewers also report that TikTok is the service that is most likely to lead to an impulse purchase (32% of them selected it), significantly higher than the competitive average (15%).
YouTube ranks #1 when it comes to positive feelings and purchase satisfaction. Nearly 8 in 10 YouTube viewers report they’re more satisfied with purchases when they consult YouTube during their shopping journey.
Why is YouTube #1 when it comes to customer satisfaction? Because YouTube provides a wealth of trusted information and resources that shoppers can use to make informed and confident decisions.
What does this mean for brands? Happy, repeat customers! Ninety-three percent of consumers who use YouTube during their shopping process keep their purchases. Eight-five percent have purchased, or plan to purchase, from the brand again.
After buying something that I've actually researched on YouTube, I don't think I've ever returned anything. After I purchase it, I feel pretty strongly about my purchase, and I typically stick with it. -Male, 23, Indiana
4. For Some Platforms, Viewers’ Perceptions Have a Halo Effect on Advertisers
Brands That Advertise on YouTube Are Seen as More Trustworthy, Established, and Credible.
When we developed this research, we knew it would be difficult to get consumers’ honest opinions about advertising—we know the typical response, right?
"I don't like ads. Period.”
So, we conducted an experiment that would answer the question:
How do people's perceptions change, based solely on the advertising platform, without any other confounding variables?
Using a combination of mock ads to control for brand bias, and a research method called an Implicit Emotions Association Test (inspired by Harvard’s Implicit Associations Test) we measured participants’ automatic associations of our mocked coffee brand “Buzzed” on different platforms.
Participants were presented with two ads and a single-word attribute on the top of the screen. (See images above for ads used.) They would see words like "Quality," and "Trustworthy" and have three seconds per word to pick which ad they most associated with that word.
The results were clear: Brands placed within the YouTube environment were rated significantly more trustworthy, established, and credible than they were on every other platform.
YouTube has long been celebrated as a place of endless discovery—a place where videos about, well, everything, are at the tips of our fingers. Because of this, YouTube has been promoted as a platform best-suited for the “upper funnel.” However, our research shows that consumers turn to YouTube throughout their entire purchase journey.
YouTube is the most trusted consumer research source for today’s shopper. We know consumers are more satisfied with purchases they make as a result of trusted information they found on YouTube. We know they feel less buyer’s remorse and more joy when it comes to products purchased after seeing them advertised, or researching them, on YouTube. And these joyful customers? They return to the brands they love again and again.
Lastly, finally, and all-importantly: Brands that advertise on YouTube are seen as more trustworthy, established, and credible than brands seen on any other platform.
YouTube’s slogan is, “Broadcast Yourself.” Our research shows that, for advertisers, consumer messaging sent via YouTube is received, loud and clear.
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