24 Key User-Generated Content Statistics

User-generated content (UGC) has become a powerful element in marketing initiatives, helping build authentic and trusting relationships between brands and consumers.

User-generated content comes in a wide range of formats, including reviews, Q&As, images and videos.

What’s the value of user-generated content (UGC) to brands? What are the consumer attitudes on user-generated content? Continue reading as we’ll cover answers to these questions with these recent UGC statistics.

User-Generated Content Statistics

Below you’ll find a curated list of user-generated content (UGC) revealing the value of authentic content, how it affects purchase behaviors and what are the most impactful UGC types. Let’s dive right in.

• 93% of marketers leveraging user-generated content in their marketing efforts claim that it performs notably better than traditional branded content – Billo
• 6 in 10 consumers believe that user-generated content (UGC) represents the most authentic form of marketing content – Billo
• Around 40% of shoppers say that user-generated content (UGC) is “extremely” or “very” important when making a purchase decision. That’s more than product comparison charts (39%) or product videos (37%) – Salsify

  

• Among surveyed shoppers, 13% of respondents state they’d abandon an online purchase if there’s no user-generated content (UGC) – Salsify
• Around 13% of Gen Z shoppers who made a purchase directly from a social media platform say that user-generated content (UGC) was the biggest influence. That’s behind influencer recommendations (32%), and exclusive discounts (26%) but above live shopping events (11%) – Salsify
• According to 85% of marketers, visual user-generated content (UGC) is perceived as a more cost-effective option than traditional professional photography or influencer content – Nostro
• The vast majority (81%) ecommerce marketers agree that visual user-generated content (UGC) is more impactful in reaching customers than professionally shot photos or influencer content – Nostro
• Among visual types of content that generate the most customer trust according to marketers, user-generated content (UGC) ranked at the top with 33%, followed by professionally-shot content (24%) and influencer-generated content (18%) – Nostro
• Nearly one-third (28%) of ecommerce marketers believe Instagram generates the most engaging user-generated content (UGC), more than any other platform.

  

  Other top social media platforms for generating the most customer engagement include Facebook (23%), TikTok (19%), Youtube (17%), X/Twitter (10%) – Nostro

• Nearly half (44%) of B2B buyers agree with the statement that “peer reviews and user-generated content are playing a greater role in the purchasing decision-making process” – Winterberry Group
• Around 82% of consumers say that they would be more likely to make a purchase from a brand that uses user-generated content (UGC) in their marketing initiatives – EnTribe
• More than half (55%) of Gen Zers (18-29 years old) want to be featured on the brand’s social media pages – EnTribe

  

• A whopping 80% of Gen Z consumers (18-29 years old) have either shared or are willing to share their purchases on social media – EnTribe
• 50% of marketers make use of user-generated content in their email campaigns – Billo
• UGC in email marketing increases click-through rates by 78% – Billo
• In a survey of enterprises, 62% of respondents said using more user-generated content (UGC) was “highly important” as a way to improve brand authenticity (overall, 91% of respondents consider UGC at least moderately important to them) – S&P Global
• Nearly 9 out of 10 (86%) brands are convinced that leveraging user-generated content (UGC) in their paid and owned media will boost the effectiveness of their advertisements and content – Bazaarvoice
• Around 55% of shoppers hesitate to buy a product without user-generated content (UGC) – Bazaarvoice

  

• Shoppers rank reviews (78%), Q&As (77%), and photos taken by other people (69%) among the most impactful types of user-generated content (UGC) for their purchase decisions – Bazaarvoice
• Consumers cite high-quality reviews (21%), average star rating (19%), and number of reviews (13%) among the most convincing shopper content types to make a purchase – Bazaarvoice

  

  Here are the exact numbers:

  Shopper content type	Share of shoppers
  High-quality reviews	21%
  Average star rating	19%
  Number of reviews	13%
  Details in reviews that resonate with my needs	13%
  Shopper photos	9%
  Review recency	8%
  Presence of Q&A	6%
  Brand responses to negative reviews	5%
  Shopper videos	4%

• In the upcoming year, 67% of retailers intend to increase their investment in user-generated content (UGC) – Bazaarvoice
• Half of the shoppers express a desire to see user-generated content on brand websites and their social media pages – Bazaarvoice
• The survey data show that 77% of consumers are open to submitting UGC to receive a reward – Bazaarvoice

  

• At least 84 user-generated content platforms are currently available on the market – G2

Conclusion

We hope you enjoyed this list of user-generated content (UGC) statistics.

We frequently regularly update this list of statistics. Don’t hesitate to revisit this page later to find the latest data points.