1 in 5 Retail Shoppers Is Influenced by Written Content

As consumers increasingly turn to digital content for shopping inspiration, articles are proving to be a relatively effective motivator for purchasing.

By the Numbers

“Generation Zillennial: How They Shop,” the new PYMNTS Intelligence special report, draws on a survey of more than 3,600 U.S. consumers to examine how purchasing behaviors differ across generations.

The study finds that millennials and bridge millennials are proving the most willing to spring for products they read about. Twenty percent of consumers said that, in the last 30 days, they made a retail purchases at least partially due to the influence of something they read, such as an article about a product. That share rises to 23% for millennials and 25% for bridge millennials.

Across generations, the study found, written content proved to be a more popular source of shopping inspiration than web ads, personalized recommendations delivered digitally or social media influencer or celebrity content.

The Data in Context

Many web publishers are integrating shopping functionality into their content. Last year, for instance, Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) shared that it was partnering with eCommerce solution provider Chicory, which integrates shopping ability into content, to enable consumers to purchase ingredients from its food-centric sites, FoodNetwork.com, Food.com and CookingChannelTV.com.

Plus, in 2022, online grocery platform Instacart released Shoppable Recipes, a suite of product integrations that allows food creators to make their recipes shoppable on TikTok, Tasty and Hearst Magazines properties including Delish and Good Housekeeping.

“We’re expanding our touchpoints beyond the weekly grocery shop or late-night cravings, and meeting people when food inspiration strikes and they want to discover new meals and cooking experiences,” Asha Sharma, then chief operating officer at Instacart (now head of product for Microsoft’s artificial intelligence platform), said in a statement at the time. “It’s a win for both consumers and the retail partners they shop from on our marketplace.”