A new report “Retail Marketing: Driving Sales Through Consumer-Created Content,” released by JupiterResearch shows that blogs, wikis, forums sway consumer opinion. Content created through the voice of the consumer is reinventing advertising, notes the article on TechWeb.

The research found that:

• 77 percent of online shoppers read consumer product reviews and ratings.
• Viewers were increasingly loyal to stores that featured product feedback.
• 22 percent of online consumers who posted feedback on forums tend to purchase more online.

The JupiterResearch report finds user-generated reviews and ratings increase loyalty and purchased frequency and reduce returns for online retailers.

JupiterResearch views consumer-created content as user-generated feedback disseminated via blogs, reviews, user groups and forums and is posted in such a public way that it can be viewed and influenced by other consumers.

Recently published consumer-created content research includes:

– “Online Retail: Driving Sales Through Consumer-Created Content,” by Patti Freeman Evans, which found that 77 percent of online shoppers use consumer generated product reviews/ratings and those who find them useful are more loyal to stores with reviews/ratings featured.

– “Travel Consumer-Created Content” by Diane Clarkson discusses the growing influence of online reviews and recommendations and provides to travel websites on how they can employ them to enhance their relevancy.

– “Online Support Forums,” by Zachary McGeary, which reveals that consumers who post feedback on forums, positive or negative, spend 22 percent more online than do consumers who have not posted on forums.

– “Managing Word of Mouth Online, Leveraging Internal Resources,” by Emily Riley, which reveals that more than 90 percent of large companies believe that consumer recommendations are important in influencing other consumers’ purchase decisions.

Riley said word of mouth, defined as online conversations, between two people that know each other is the most trustworthy method to gain information, but it’s losing trust because many strangers are entering the conversation.