ST. LOUIS, MO (KMOX) - The latest survey shows social media has a significant impact on buying decisions, especially for younger consumers.
72% of people in their 20's and 30's say their social media feeds influence how they spend their money. Nearly half of people in their 40's and 50's say the same. "Everything that we see on our social media feeds is targeted," explains Bankrate Industry Analyst Ana Staples. "When we see something on our social media feeds, when we see our friends and family posting something, or we see a compelling ad, we really have this urge to spend."
Staples points out, technology allows people to make those purchases within seconds.
She tells KMOX she was surprised by one finding of the survey. Millennials aren't as pursuaded by social media "influencers" as we might suspect. People in their 20's and 30's say what they see posted online by friends and family has more sway than posts from online celebrities. "You would think, we like those people because we find them relatable, or because they are the Jones we're trying to keep up with, but we're not as influenced by them, because I think at this point, many of us understand that these people have an incentive to say something nice."
The poll of more than 24-hundred Americans was commissioned by CreditCards.com and conducted by YouGuv Plc.
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