eMarketer: People trust friends more than they do bloggers

Word-of-mouth has a radically greater impact on purchase behavior when it comes from friends than from strangers (like bloggers), according to a Mintel survey of buying behavior, just cited in eMarketer,

eMarketer says: “While bloggers may bring buzz to a product, converting the buzz to sales is another matter.”

“It’s interesting to find that as much time as we spend online, we still prefer a personal recommendation from someone we know and trust,” said Chris Haack of Mintel.

Here’s their data: