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Internet Shoppers Depend on Each Other-MarketplaceStories.com Helps

Studies Show Shoppers Rely On Each Other For Advice & Recommendations More Than TV, Movies, Radio, Magazines or Any Online Influence

Despite an increasing number of marketing approaches aimed at consumers, shoppers are still most strongly influenced by each other's opinions and put their trust in the recommendations posted by other shoppers when making online purchasing decisions.

A surprising Nielsen survey(i) found that 61% of consumers polled worldwide said they trusted each other's posted comments; receiving a higher rate of trust than TV, movie, magazine and radio advertising and all forms of online influence (corporate websites, sponsored search result advertising, banner ads, email offers, and text ads on mobile phones).

"Online shoppers want to capitalize on and benefit from the experiences of other consumers so they can make smarter purchasing decisions," says Mike Allan, owner of MarketplaceStories.com.

"People believe the experiences told by other shoppers because they feel the opinions are less biased than other sources. A customer has nothing to gain from promoting a good service or product so positive feedback can carry a lot of weight. In addition, cautionary tales from other consumers can be a powerful influence as well."

"We've designed our site around the fact that online shoppers value each other's recommendations and benefit from their shared research. Our members post consumer-related stories that help one another make more informed purchasing decisions."

"Additionally, we maintain a comprehensive, personally selected collection of retailers and products that we manually link to relevant stories making it easy for shoppers to find the items being discussed. Members can review these retailers and products so they have an additional sense of assurance about their quality. Members can also save lists of their favorite retailers and products to share with other shoppers."

"We wanted to make shopping on the web friendlier," said Allan, "and by giving members a voice we found that everyone benefits from their shared experiences."

arketplaceStories.com, launched May 15th, 2008, is a social media website for shoppers owned and operated by MindWorks Software Design Inc. The site maintains quality retailers and products and provides a community where shoppers can form relationships with each other, share opinions and recommendations, assist each other in consumer research and have a dynamic voice.

(i) Source: Nielsen Online Global Consumer Study April 2007 - The Nielsen Company

For more information or to schedule an interview with Mike Allan please see contact information below.