Japanese consumer purchasing decisions shaped most by word of mouth web sites
Over the first five days of April 2007 MyVoice surveyed its internet community regarding the use of word of mouth web sites. To use the popular English buzzword, these sites could also be called CGM sites, or Consumer Generated Media sites, although I think that CGM covers a wider area than the word of mouth sites referenced by this survey.
Demographics
17,647 members of the MyVoice internet community completed a private internet-based survey. 54% were female, 2% in their teens, 19% in their twenties, 39% in their thirties, 26% in their forties, and 14% in their fifties.
I’ve used kakaku.com a few times myself to get ideas of prices and user opinions on home applicances and computer peripherals. The lowest prices they display, however, are potentially misleading, I feel, as I don’t know how or if they account for haggling or for special one-day sales and the like. On the other hand, I do feel their user ratings are quite reliable. Very well worth a visit before purchasing, and their simple star ratings make it very easy to find out which items are best in their class. However, I end up doing most of my buying in a bricks and mortar store.
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