Last month, JCPenney announced it was partnering with Bazaarvoice Visual Syndication Network to collect and post user-generated content (UGC) on its website’s product display pages.

• The department store is hardly the first retailer to recognize the value of UGC—over a quarter (28.4%) of ecommerce marketers in North America believe that images/video from real customers (aka, UGC) is the type of visual content that impacts purchase decisions the most, according to a May 2023 survey from Nosto.
• Nearly as many (25.5%) think UGC generates the most customer trust, just behind professionally shot images or videos.

And consumers agree: Some 40% of UK and US adults believe UGC is important when deciding to make a purchase, according to a February 2024 survey from Salsify conducted by SurveyMonkey.

• While pricing and discounts may be the most important factor in purchasing decisions (79%), adults also listed product descriptions, product images, and customer ratings as important—all of which can be incorporated into UGC content.
• In fact, 62% of consumers worldwide look to UGC to provide them with information on whether an item is a value for their money, 50% want information on the quality of product materials, and 44% want to know if the product matches the description, according to an August 2023 survey from Bazaarvoice.

There’s room for improvement: While 76% of brand marketers worldwide say UGC on owned media is the most common influencer marketing strategy, only 18% believe it's the most impactful, according to an August 2023 survey from CreatorIQ.

Brands can increase the effectiveness of their UGC by leveraging it outside of their owned channels, using social platforms to meet consumers where they spend their time.

• 29% of retailers in North America want to increase the amount of UGC along the social to brand site journey, per an August 2023 survey from SimplicityDX.
• YouTube generates the most UGC, according to 28.4% of ecommerce marketers in North America, while Instagram produces the highest-quality UGC (32.4%), according to Notso’s survey.
• However, when asked which platform consumers are most engaged with, Facebook came out on top.

The bottom line: UGC is a powerful tool for boosting consumer engagement and trust, and it can lead to purchases down the line. However, for maximum effectiveness, brands should be leveraging UGC outside of owned channels, specifically on platforms where they know consumers are engaged.

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