Influenster Solution Demonstrates Impact of Peer-to-Peer Recommendations in Driving Sales Conversion

NEW YORK, May 15, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Influenster, the leading product discovery and reviews platform, featuring 35 million+ reviews written by 5 million+ members, today shared the results of third-party research fielded by IRI®, demonstrating the value of peer-to-peer recommendations in driving conversion. The research, conducted on behalf of a well-known global color cosmetics brand, reveals how ratings, reviews and user-generated content can drive an increase in incremental sales and highlights the importance of ratings and reviews in the purchasing decisions of everyday consumers. As many brands struggle with measuring the impact of influence in a marketing landscape, where trust in traditional advertising and even big-name social influencers continues to decline, these findings are an important proof-point demonstrating the enduring power of word-of-mouth.

The Influenster campaign included: hyper-targeted sampling to 2,000 females (aged 18-30, with 1,000+ social media followers and living in brand key markets, Dallas and San Francisco); dedicated email communication to recipients; and inspirational branded content to Influenster fans and followers. Recipients were encouraged to share their honest opinions on the products sampled, whether via reviews or social media content. Product reviews generated by the campaign, written on Influenster, were also syndicated to brand and retail sites. Post-campaign, the brand lift study conducted by IRI revealed that, in the two key test markets:

• The Influenster campaign drove a 44% higher sales lift for the featured products vs. the IRI benchmark for average digital campaigns in Beauty
• The Influenster campaign drove a 69% higher sales lift for the product categories [in which the sampled products compete] vs. the IRI benchmark for average digital campaigns in Beauty, demonstrating a positive halo effect

"These results are particularly exciting, given the lack of an industry standard to measure the power of influence. As an innovator in the space and the largest micro-influencer network in the world, Influenster is proud to pioneer research that proves activating your key consumer base at scale has significant brand-building and sales potential," says Laura Brinker, SVP Marketing, Influenster.

Additional results of the campaign include:

• Social posts: 360 Facebook posts, 430 Instagram posts, 420 Instagram stories, 320 Snapchat stories, 950 Twitter posts
• Product reviews: 1,200+ product reviews on Influenster (syndicated to brand and retail sites, tool)
• Impressions: 15.7 million total impressions (+ impressions from reviews on Brand.com/partner retailers)
• Purchase interest: 73% of campaign participants, amongst those who answered a post-campaign survey, said they were very or somewhat likely to purchase something from the brand in the next six months

"The online shopping experience is quickly evolving, impacted by numerous influences, including recommendations, customer reviews and photos, before making a purchase," says Nishat Mehta, president of the IRI Media Center of Excellence. "Helping to improve this experience is why we wanted to team up with Influenster to pinpoint exactly what is most important to consumers in their buying decisions."

"It's heartening to see these results because they demonstrate the opportunity for brands to engage the highly-empowered consumers who come to Influenster to share their product feedback and experiences," says Elizabeth Scherle, co-founder and president, Influenster. "Through the strength of our community, we can create a groundswell of consumer buzz and reviews, which this study proves more effective than typical digital campaigns in driving both product and sub-category sales."

She adds, "Outside of our brand campaigns, our 5 million members leave 1 million organic, unsolicited reviews every month, and we enable brands to syndicate this content to their brand and retailer sites through our ReviewSource service or populate targeted digital and social media units with UGC – both also proven to drive conversion."

About Influenster

Influenster is a digital destination where millions of consumers research and review products and where brands can target and connect with highly-engaged, empowered shoppers. Members use Influenster to read and write reviews, post photos and videos, ask and answer questions, connect with brands and with one another, and have the potential to earn rewards. Our mission is to connect the right people with the right products at the right time, fueled by the most relevant peer-to-peer recommendations.

The Influenster community of more than 5 million members is still rapidly growing. These product mavens with a heavy social media presence use their influence to spread the word about the products they know. Ever since the launch of Influenster's reviews platform, over 35 million reviews on more than 2.5 million products, with an additional 1 million reviews are generated each month.

Headquartered in New York City, Influenster was founded by Elizabeth Scherle and Aydin Acar in 2010.

About IRI

IRI is a leading provider of big data, predictive analytics and forward-looking insights that help CPG, OTC health care, retailers and media companies to grow. With the largest repository of purchase, media, social, causal and loyalty data, all integrated on an on-demand cloud-based technology platform, IRI guides over 5,000 clients globally in their quests to remain relentlessly relevant, capture market share, connect with consumers and deliver growth.

Advertisers, agencies and adtechs can improve return on ad spend (ROAS), as much as 70 percent, by engaging with IRI's Media Center of Excellence. With over 350 million frequent shopper loyalty cards, IRI has the largest loyalty card data asset available for 100 percent deterministic and probabilistic audiences, supplemented by the largest collection of point-of-sale, consumer panel and causal data in the industry. IRI's media solutions arm clients with the ability to target consumers based on actual purchase behavior pre-campaign, adjust strategy mid-campaign through in-flight optimization, and enhance performance and spend through a deeper understanding of cross-channel synergies post-campaign. Please contact IRIMedia@IRIworldwide.com for more information.

Media Contact: press@influenster.com

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SOURCE Influenster