In the third edition of the Social Recommendations Index more than 21,000 responses have been collected.  Get the stats on how much consumers rely on their friends and family for advice about their purchase decisions.

Here are the highlights from Social Media Link’s survey of its consumer influencer community. It captured data from more than 21,0000 respondents. “At least once a month, 83% of respondents hear about new products on social media before they hear from any other source,” states Social Media Link. Moreover, 67% of respondents say they always or often seek out recommendations from family and close friends when gathering information about a product/brand purchase. To find out more about how reviews and recommendations affect the path to purchase, click or tap on the infographic.

“At least once a month, 83% of respondents hear about new products on social media before they hear from any other source,” states Social Media Link. Moreover, 67% of respondents say they always or often seek out recommendations from family and close friends when gathering information about a product/brand purchase. To find out more about how reviews and recommendations affect the path to purchase, click or tap on the infographic.

Also 64% say they use video reviews at least some time and the top 5 destinations for gathering information about product/brands are:

1.Retail WebSite

2. Brand/Manufacturer WebSite

3. Facebook Posts

4. YouTube Posts

5. Brand-owned Communities

To find out more about how reviews and social recommendations affect the path to purchase, see the infographic below.