Holmes Report 06 Jan 2013 // 12:00AM GMT
Close to 90 percent of women online said they would not purchase a product that had received a negative review on a blog, according to a new national survey, Women Who Read Blogs, conducted by JSH&A Communications and its LIFStyle institute. On the positive side, 82 percent of respondents said they had purchased a product based on a favorable blog review.
“Blogs and bloggers carry an enormous amount of weight in the consumer marketplace,” says Jonni Hegenderfer, JSH&A CEO. “Women in particular trust what bloggers have to say. One bad post can significantly damage sales while a positive comment can send product sales soaring.”
The survey also confirmed the growing popularity of blogs, finding that than 60 percent of online women read at least one blog every day.
“In a short span of time, blogs have captured a significant consumer audience with almost two-thirds of blog readers strongly committed to blogs as part of their daily routine,” says Hegenderfer. “This may reflect the 24/7 accessibility of the internet and its interactive nature encouraging readers to share experiences.”
According to the survey, food and cooking blogs and coupon and shopping blogs were rated the favorite types of blogs to read (67.2 percent) followed by entertainment blogs (50.2 percent) and fashion and beauty blogs (41.8 percent). The most often mentioned individual blogs were MoneySavingMom.com and TheKrazyCouponLady.com.
“Blogs have emerged as an important part of women’s lives,” Hegenderfer says. “In many ways, they’re replacing newspapers and magazines and even the morning talk shows as a reliable source of consumer information.”
Although 64 percent of the respondents were mothers, mommy blogs ranked in fifth place as respondents’ favorite blog type, tied with news blogs (39 percent), and just below health and fitness blogs (39.8 percent).
“Much of the attention that marketers have given to mommy bloggers in the last couple years may need to be refocused to better align with relevant areas of interest,” says Hegenderfer. “The rapid popularity of Pinterest, a site featuring a multitude of recipes and food pictures, supports food and cooking as a premier category for women online”