Continuing in the same vein as yesterday, eMarketer presents the results of a Deloitte survey that shows that 62% of US internet users read online reviews.

Other highlights:

• “Virtually all shoppers now find them credible” (99%)
• “More than eight in 10 (82 percent) say their purchase decisions have been directly influenced by the reviews, either influencing them to buy a different product than the one they had originally been thinking about purchasing or confirming the original purchase intention.”
• “While the percentages were slightly higher for the younger generations, all age groups are reading and acting on online reviews at significant rates.”
• “The reach of consumer reviews isn’t limited to the online world; seven in 10 (69 percent) consumers who read reviews share them with friends, family or colleagues, thus amplifying their impact.”
• “Deloitte conducted a separate study in August with Sterling Commerce and found that 42% of US online shoppers thought that featuring consumer reviews on Web sites increased consumer trust in the sites—and presumably the products therein.”

What it means: we’ve known for a while now that online word of mouth plays a major role in product/service buying decisions but I like the added data of age groups being all equally active and the fact that online reviews are “sneezed” back into the offline world. This really shows their importance.