Young people are now turning more and more to social media to search for information about local businesses, a trend that is increasingly evident. While 67% of 18-24 year-olds prefer Instagram, Google is the go-to search engine for older generations.

It has become the typical behaviour of the younger generation. Before going to a restaurant or choosing a hotel, young consumers first consult social media to get a glimpse of the place and to find out about other consumers’ unbiased opinion. A trend confirmed by SOCI’s Consumer Behavior Index study, conducted with 1,002 US consumers. According to the study, Instagram has become the first choice of young adults when searching online. The Meta platform is the preferred medium of 67% of 18-24 year-olds looking for information about local businesses, while 61% of them opt for Google.

Among 25-34 year-olds, 68% favour Google, as do 72% of 65+ consumers, 74% of 45-54 year-olds, 76% of 35-44 year-olds and up to 79% of 55-64 year-olds.

The picture is more varied when it comes to the second choice of search engine. TikTok is the second choice for 62% of the younger consumers, and Facebook that of 25-44 year-olds. Older generations instead prefer to use Google Maps as their second choice. In general, the use of social media declines drastically among users aged 45 and over.

“The strategy that businesses should pursue will depend on their target audience, but it’s safe to say that most businesses don’t just want to appeal to one age group, and therefore will need to spread their efforts across both search [engines] and social [media] accordingly. The big revelation here is that social is now the clear preference of the youngest consumers when it comes to local research and discovery,” noted the study.

In 2022, Google said that 40% of Gen Z consumers preferred Instagram and TikTok to Google Search, but SOCI’s study shows that 64% of Americans prefer traditional search engines. To search for information about local businesses, 72% of them use Google and 51% Google Maps. They’re followed by Facebook (49%), Instagram (33%), TikTok (27%) and Snapchat (19%).

Three-star ratings

SOCI indicated that 87% of the consumers interviewed said they regularly consult online reviews before making a purchase. For 77% of them, ratings given by web users are crucial. A company must have at least a rating of three stars out of five to be considered.

Some 80% of respondents said they run online searches at least once a week, and 32% do it every day, sometimes several times a day.

Among online search subjects, restaurants and retailers, supermarkets included, are the most popular for 56% and 42% of respondents respectively. Searches for doctors and health in general are carried out by 28% of people.

While 99% of respondents said they are satisfied with the information found on the web, only 15% of consumers admitted to coming across inaccurate information. However, they do not necessarily blame the business in question. While 14% said they contact the business to tell them about their experience, 47% simply look for a similar store.

“According to our findings, Gen Z consumers are even more likely to use social media to search for local businesses than they were 18 months ago. But Google remains the dominant search engine choice in all other age groups, and social media usage drops significantly among consumers over the age of 44,” said the study.