What influences your purchase decisions when buying food? How do these influences change when buying clothing or technology?  This simple open-ended question was fielded to 7,000 consumers: 1,000 from each of seven different product sectors.   The responses were anything but simple encompassing a range of factors including emotional motivations, specific criteria used to evaluate functional product benefits and price, and the channels through which consumers became aware of the product or used to seek more information about the product.

This raises an interesting consideration, since over the past decade, the media landscape has undergone significant transformations, reshaping how Americans access and engage with information.  We hypothesized that the pervasive 24-hour news cycle, the increasing reliance on social and digital media, and the growing distrust towards traditional news sources have undoubtedly altered how consumers are influenced in their purchase journey.  Additionally, we speculated that while motivation and product feature influences may vary by product sector, the sources of influence could exhibit more universal patterns across categories.

The Search For Answers

As public relations and marketing communication professionals, we recognized the importance of understanding how influence is changing in America.   Guided by the insights from the open-ended responses, we partnered with Libran Research & Consulting to develop a quantitative survey that comprehensively explored “Influence in America” across all its critical factors.  The survey was fielded to 1,000+ consumers in each of the seven product sectors that were initially explored.  The study, conducted in Q4 2023, sought to identify and quantify the key influences for each product sector, providing a deep dive exploration into the specific sources driving product awareness and driving product purchase choice.  

Universal Truths On Sources Of Influence

A meta-analysis comparing all seven product sector results revealed that leading sources of influence were surprisingly not as consistent as initially thought and that they vary significantly by product category.  However, there are a few universal truths, which support and validate many fundamental principles already widely believed to be drivers of influence.  Understanding these principles can help guide more effective activation against communication plans and programs.   

1. Top of the Funnel is King of the Hill  

Awareness-driving influences are the most important sources of purchase across most categories, as 20-40% of consumers do not go on to seek more information about the product or service of interest. For those that do seek additional information, they tend to use the same sources where they initially became aware of the product/service. Therefore, whether you are introducing a new product or driving brand purchase, prioritizing top-of-funnel awareness-building efforts is essential. 

2. Surround Sound Drives Consumer Engagement

Consumers typically consult multiple sources throughout their purchase journey. The greater the perceived risk of purchase, the more sources referenced.   Although on average, 3-5 sources are referenced between awareness and purchase across all product sectors, underscoring the importance of a multi-channel strategy.

3. IRL Trumps URL                                                                                          

Despite the digital disruption we are experiencing in nearly every category, IRL experiences have the greatest influence over purchase intent. In-store interaction is the #1 source of influence driving awareness and purchase across most categories.  And when consumers become aware of a product in-store, they are more likely to buy it in store, which is not true for online sales.  So, remember the IRL retail component of your marketing mix to capitalize on this behavior. 

4. Word-of-Mouth (WOM) Wins                                                                                 

Family and Friends continue to wield powerful influence in terms of driving awareness and purchase intent across most categories. They are the strongest personal influence in the Travel Sector and the second most important source in Technology, Food & Beverage, and Health Care.  While, WOM is often overlooked in the marketing toolkit, given its perceived difficulty to activate against, it can be helpful to know that Influencers are often elevated to friendship status, particularly among the Gen Z audience.

5. Social/Digital Supports Personal Expression                                               

Despite the prevalence of social and digital media in today’s market they have not emerged as the primary sources of influence across all categories.  Technology is the only product sector where social and digital has become the leading source of influence, and they are the second strongest drivers of influence in categories driven by personal expression, like Fashion, Beauty, and Home Décor.  Therefore, while social and digital support can help complement and amplify communication efforts across most categories, it proves particularly essential in Technology and Aesthetic-Based Product Sectors.

6. Demographic Tendencies Can Help Predict Sources of Influence                       

In a world of increasing polarization, it is nice to see that when it comes to sources of influence, we are more alike than we are different.  However, there are a few exceptions where demographic groups show similar tendencies across all categories, which should be considered when targeting these populations.

• Younger generations and BIPOC consumers are more greatly influenced by social media than are Gen X/ Boomers and Mainstream Households. 

• Influencer marketing is especially effective among Hispanic and Black consumers. 

• Men become more aware of products through traditional media than Women, while Women are more likely to build awareness through social media, word-of-mouth, or expert advice.

• Larger Households, Households with Kids and BIPOC Households tend to view all purchase decisions riskier than the average Household – thus, not surprisingly, they tend to use the most sources. 

Influence is a complicated topic, with many levers to consider. Interestingly, our ongoing hypothesis did not play out, as our study ultimately showed the opposite: despite the shifting media landscape, many important sources of influence from the past continue to play a leading role in influence today and several widely believed fundamental principles of influence continue to hold true.  And while understanding these principles will help maximize your PR and marketing efforts, influence can vary significantly by product sector.  Thus, influences at the category level are essential to provide a complete picture of its opportunities and barriers.

Interested in learning more? Join our upcoming webinar where HUNTER leadership in insights, media relations, social and digital media, and talent and influencer relations will share how they are activating the study learnings to maximize influence against their target audiences.