Fueling Purchase Decisions: 74% of Online Shoppers Regularly Read Q&A Sections Before Committing to a Purchase

PowerReviews’ report reveals product detail page Q&A boosts conversions and product education among consumers

PowerReviews, a 1WorldSync company, has released its 2024 Q&A Confidence and Conversion Rate report, featuring insights from nearly 16,000 US consumers. The report reveals how consumers interact with brands’ and retailers’ product page Q&A, why consumers value the content and how Q&A responses influence purchase behavior.

Brands and retailers are increasingly adding Q&A sections to their product pages, where shoppers can read existing questions, pose their own and answer questions from other consumers. Nearly 74% of online shoppers read Q&A sections regularly, while only 5% occasionally or never review the content. Most consumers (67%) have submitted product questions, and a nearly equal amount (66%) have provided an answer.

Consumers rely on Q&A as a supplemental resource to user-generated ratings and reviews. Both sources of user-generated content (UGC) increase confidence and boost conversions throughout the purchase journey, with 97% of consumers who read Q&A saying they do so in addition to reading ratings and reviews.

The survey found that balancing user-generated and brand-provided content on product detail pages is key. Though product descriptions are valuable and informative, Q&A responses provide additional insights that 49% of shoppers find more authentic than brand-created information.

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When reviewing Q&A sections, consumers are looking to:

• Understand how the product performs when in use (79%).
• Determine if the product fits the shopper’s personal needs (69%).
• Find more specific information than a standard product review (56%).

“Many shoppers encounter questions that stand in the way of fully committing to a purchase decision. While brands do their best to answer some of these in product descriptions or by showcasing customer reviews, other questions are more specific and require insights from those who have experienced the product in a real-life setting,” said Steve Sivitter, CEO of 1WorldSync. “It’s clear that today’s consumers want easy access to more high-quality, trusted information, and Q&A is becoming an increasingly essential aspect of well-orchestrated product content.”

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Other key report findings include:

• Shoppers grow suspicious without question sections: Nearly a quarter (24%) of consumers say that if there’s no Q&A section on a product page, it makes them more suspicious about the quality of the product or the brand they’re considering.
• Consumers trust verified buyers most: 92% of consumers value answers provided by verified buyers, whereas only 51% value answers provided by the brand or retailer selling the product.
• Gen Z is skeptical of brands lacking a Q&A despite being least likely to engage: Gen Z shoppers are the group most likely to be deterred by a lack of Q&A content, yet only 54% have provided an answer. In comparison, 69% of Gen X shoppers have left at least one response.
• Men out-participate women in posing questions and answers: 71% of men submit questions compared to just 66% of women.