User-generated videos have become a meaningful part of how people research products, discover brands, and decide whether to buy. Across the surveys cited here, shoppers place particular value on customer-submitted visual proof, while creators and marketers reveal a growing tension between the commercial value of this content and the need for permission, payment, and credit.
Contents
- How audiences seek user-generated videos before buying
- Why user-generated videos influence trust and purchase likelihood
- Where shoppers want to find user-generated videos
- How value varies across audiences
- Product discovery and category shopping
- Creator rights and brand investment
How audiences seek user-generated videos before buying
The strongest signal is that customer-created visual content is already part of mainstream purchase research. In a 2024 survey, 99.9% of consumers said they seek photos and videos from other customers before making a purchase. The same survey found that 48.5% always seek customer-submitted photos and videos before buying. These are survey results, not a forecast, and the measurement covers customer-submitted photos and videos together unless a video-specific result is identified.
The habit is especially pronounced among younger shoppers. In the 2024 survey, 61% of Gen Z consumers always sought customer-submitted photos and videos before buying, compared with 53% of millennials, 40% of Gen X, and 29% of Boomers. The generational spread indicates that customer video is not equally important to every audience, but it is relevant across all four groups.
For product research specifically, 70% of shoppers considered user-generated videos necessary information. Among Gen Z shoppers, that figure reached 81%. In practical terms, a product page can be technically complete and still feel incomplete to a shopper who expects to see customers using, wearing, testing, or explaining the product.
These findings come from PowerReviews’ Consumers’ Growing Reliance on Visual Content, based on a survey of 15,870 U.S. consumers conducted in December 2023. Its visual-content measures include customer-submitted photos and videos, with video-specific results identified where reported.
Why user-generated videos influence trust and purchase likelihood
Customer video often functions as evidence rather than decoration. PowerReviews reported that 74% of shoppers considered a customer-supplied product video more valuable than videos from brands, retailers, or influencers. That preference is important because it concerns perceived value, not simply whether shoppers enjoy watching video.
The purchase effect is also visible in review behavior. In a 2024 survey, 91% of consumers were more likely to buy a product when its review included photos and videos as well as text. The result rose to 96% for Gen Z consumers, 93% for millennials, 87% for Gen X, and 82% for Boomers.
The intensity of the response matters too: 61% of consumers said they were much more likely to purchase a product when photos and videos appeared in its reviews. At the other end of the decision, 23% of shoppers said they would not purchase a product if no customer photos or videos were available.
| Purchase signal | Share of consumers |
|---|---|
| More likely to buy when reviews include photos and videos | 91% |
| Much more likely to buy when reviews include photos and videos | 61% |
| Will not buy when customer photos or videos are unavailable | 23% |
| Consider user-generated videos necessary product-research information | 70% |
The source for these purchase-behavior figures is PowerReviews’ How User-Generated Visual Content Impacts Purchase Behavior. The survey was conducted in 2024, and the reported percentages should be read as published survey findings rather than derived conversion rates.
Where shoppers want to find user-generated videos
Placement affects whether shoppers can use customer video at the moment they need it. In a December 2023 survey, 84% of consumers wanted customer photos and videos directly on product pages. This was the most selected location, making the product detail page the central destination for customer-submitted visual proof.
Search and category pages were also important: 54% wanted customer photos and videos there. That placement can help shoppers compare products before choosing a specific product page. Social media posts followed at 51%, showing that customer content can support both discovery and evaluation.
Other requested locations were a brand website homepage, selected by 36% of consumers, and promotional emails, selected by 25%. The figures do not mean every shopper wants the same asset in every location. They show a preference for access across the shopping journey, from initial discovery to detailed evaluation.
PowerReviews reported these results in Where Shoppers Want to Find User-Generated Visual Content, using its survey of 15,870 U.S. consumers conducted in December 2023.
How value varies across audiences
Audience differences are visible both in perceived value and in purchase resistance. Women were more likely than men to be identified as placing the most value on user-generated videos, at 75% versus 69%, according to a 2024 survey.
Generational results for customer-supplied product videos were relatively high across every reported group. Millennials gave these videos the highest value rating at 77%, followed by Gen Z at 74%, Gen X at 73%, and Boomers at 65%. The figures suggest that customer video is not only a Gen Z format, even though younger audiences often show the strongest reliance on it.
The likelihood of refusing a purchase when customer photos or videos are unavailable also varied by generation:
| Audience | Refusal likelihood when customer photos or videos are unavailable |
|---|---|
| Gen Z | 36% |
| Millennials | 24% |
| Gen X | 17% |
| Boomers | 14% |
In the same 2024 purchase-behavior research, Gen Z shoppers were 36% likely to refuse a purchase without customer photos or videos, compared with 24% of millennials, 17% of Gen X shoppers, and 14% of Boomers. These are audience-level survey results, not predictions for an individual shopper.
The perceived-value results are from Consumers’ Growing Reliance on Visual Content, while the refusal figures are from How User-Generated Visual Content Impacts Purchase Behavior.
Product discovery and category shopping
User-generated photos and videos are most helpful in categories where shoppers want to see scale, fit, appearance, operation, or real-world use. In a 2024 survey, 88% of consumers considered this content helpful when shopping for clothing. Shoes followed at 76%, health and beauty at 74%, electronics at 69%, and appliances at 64%.
The same research found that 56% considered user-generated photos and videos helpful for home and garden products, 51% for toys, and 36% for groceries. These results describe perceived helpfulness, not sales lift, and the measures include user-generated photos as well as videos.
| Shopping category | Consumers calling user-generated photos and videos helpful |
|---|---|
| Clothing | 88% |
| Shoes | 76% |
| Health and beauty | 74% |
| Electronics | 69% |
| Appliances | 64% |
| Home and garden | 56% |
| Toys | 51% |
| Groceries | 36% |
Video also plays a role before shoppers reach a product page. Bazaarvoice reported in a January 2023 survey that 60% of U.S. consumers had purchased after watching a product-highlight video on social media or from an influencer. The survey covered 8,089 consumers across six countries, while this particular result concerns U.S. consumers; the press release was issued in 2024.
In that survey, 64% of consumers tended to purchase products when they saw them advertised in videos, and 91% enjoyed watching product-focused videos on social platforms. Quality was named by 53% of U.S. consumers as a factor influencing brand loyalty, compared with 37% naming price.
For discovery, 66% of U.S. consumers preferred discovering new products through videos on social channels. Platform preferences included YouTube at 61%, TikTok at 54%, and Instagram at 52%. These findings come from Bazaarvoice’s 2024 Shopper Preference Report: Video Content Reigns Supreme for 66% of U.S. Consumers in Product Discovery.
Creator rights and brand investment
The commercial case for user-generated video is paired with a rights and trust issue. MASV’s Report: The State Of User-Generated Content 2024 found that 81% of consumers considered user-generated video more trustworthy than professionally created brand content or influencer marketing, while 85% relied on user-generated video before making a purchase.
Marketers also planned to keep investing: 98% planned to increase or maintain their user-generated-video budget in 2024. However, the same report found that 47% of creators whose videos had been used by brands or influencers said the content was used without permission. Among those creators, 73% said they were not paid for that marketing use and 35% said they were not credited or mentioned.
The issue extended beyond creators whose content was directly reused. Forty percent of creators said they knew another creator whose original content had been used by a brand without permission. Overall, 95% said brands or influencers should ask permission before using their content.
The reputational consequences were substantial in the survey. Nearly 70% of creators whose content was used without permission were disappointed or very disappointed in the brand or influencer, and 68% said brands using user-generated video without permission were not trustworthy. At the same time, 44% of marketers saw no or only a minor risk in using a creator’s user-generated video without permission. The contrast points to a gap between creator expectations and marketer risk perception.
User-generated video also supports discovery beyond shopping. Deloitte’s User-generated video content fuels music discovery and fandom among younger people reported that 82% of Gen Z respondents and 70% of millennial respondents discovered new artists or music through social media or user-generated-video sites. The figures come from Deloitte’s 2024 Digital Media Trends study and describe social media or UGC-video-site behavior, not a standalone UGC-video-only sample.
Around 75% of Gen Z and millennial respondents searched for an artist after hearing that artist’s music in a UGC video, movie, television show, or video game. Nearly 40% of Gen Z and millennial music fans followed favorite bands or musicians on social media. For comparison, 23% of all respondents discovered new music through recommendations on streaming music services.
Together, these statistics show why user-generated video matters to content creators, product teams, and marketers: shoppers use it to evaluate products, audiences use it to discover what is new, and creators expect clear permission and fair treatment when their work becomes part of a brand’s marketing.