Half of adults look for online recommendations rather than ask their partners

More than half of adults worldwide are more likely to consult digital resources than their significant other (SO) for recommendations for products and services according to a new report by cloud database company DataStax.

In the US, 64 percent of adults choose digital resources over their SO, in the UK it's 61 percent, and Germany, 52 percent. The French, however, are still inclined to the offline approach with only 45 percent of adults choosing digital resources over their SO.

Among other findings are that 69 percent of international adults are willing to spend extra to reduce their wait times for services they care about. Those willing to pay more will shell out, on average, 21 percent extra to reduce their wait. US adults are the most willing to pay a premium, on average 29 percent more than the asking price. They are followed by the UK at 23 percent, France at 18 percent, with the thrifty Germans the least willing to fork over additional money, at 15 percent. In the United States, millennials, on average, are willing to pay a hefty 40 percent over the regular price.

Personalization is seen as important too, with more than half of adults worldwide saying that personalization is somewhat or very important to their experience. 53 percent of adults in the US are more willing to share their personal data with a company that personalizes its services or products. Adults in the UK (43 percent), Germany (39 percent), and France (36 percent) are a bit much more cautious.

Consumers across the US, UK, Germany and France want to see personalization everywhere from the doctor's office (78 percent), to banking (66 percent), and grocery shopping (58 percent), to airline travel (52 percent).

American adults are more likely to find personalization important when it comes to car service transportation (58 percent compared to 43 percent in the UK, 42 percent in Germany, and 45 percent in France); and online dating site experiences -- where personalization would seem to be quite key -- (54 percent vs. 42 percent, 24 percent, and 42 percent, respectively).

"It's now essential for all brands -- especially large enterprises -- to serve up a truly personalized experience in real time, and provide data-driven insights for a seamless customer experience -- or risk facing customer churn," says Billy Bosworth, chairman and CEO at DataStax. “Our study found that today's 'Me Culture' demands that services and experience to be relevant, always available, instantly responsive, and accessible wherever and however they want it."

You can find out more about the survey results on the DataStax website.

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