Facebook, texting are small but significant ways men share purchase preferences
SEPTEMBER 14, 2011 – Men, like consumers in general, are far more likely to recommend purchases to family and friends in person than by any other means, according to �The Great Male Survey� conducted by AskMen.com with Ipsos OTX Media CT.
The survey, which polled more than 83,000 teen boys and men in the US, UK, Australia and Canada, found that the youngest respondents were the most likely to make recommendations face-to-face. Phone and email recommendations lagged far behind.
Mobile and social networks were chosen by a small but significant minority as methods of recommending purchases. Between 5% and 6% of respondents under age 35 said they share purchase information over Facebook or another social network. Among older men, this share was lower still.
Posts on social networks about products or services, though they may be relatively rare among men, are influential, according to survey data. ROI Research reported that 60% of US social network users were at least somewhat likely to take an action when a friend posts something about a product or brand on a social network.
In spite of the widespread popularity of Facebook, slightly more men prefer to recommend purchases through text message, particularly those in the younger groups. Seven percent of those between 20 and 28 years old said they text their purchase preferences, while 6% of teens as well as men 29 to 34 do.
Their ease with texting reflects the ubiquity of mobile phones among men of all ages around the world. In answer to a question about which device they use most when not working, the plurality in almost all age groups said the computer. But a quarter of men between the ages of 25 and 39 spend more of their spare time on mobile devices.
About eMarketer
By gathering the latest research and news from over 1,000 sources, eMarketer has established itself as the world’s leading provider of internet and e-business statistics. eMarketer’s Web site is at www.emarketer.com.