The Digital Influence Index Study:Understanding the Role of the Internet in the Lives of Consumers in the Netherlands

Published by Fleishman-Hillard

Amsterdam, December 2010

2

Background On The Study

Response

E-mails sent 2270

E-mails bounced 91

Completes 640

Non Response 1539

Response percentage 29%

The Digital Influence Index study measures several key aspects of Dutch consumers’

use of the Internet, from media consumption patterns, the degree of adoption of varying

digital behavior, to the involvement in online social networking. The study furthermore

assesses the Internet’s influence on specific decision making processes— from

purchasing to politics, healthcare to finance.

A recent study of Fleishman-Hillard and Harris Interactive examined this index for

countries like China, Japan, USA, Canada, France and Germany. This study places the

Digital Influence Index in the Netherlands in an international context.

Research background

Target Group Dutch consumers representative for the Dutch online population.

Method Online research

Response In total 640 online interviews have been conducted, a response of

29%. The data are representative for the online population of the

Netherlands.

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Key Findings

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7 Key take aways:

1: The Internet is by far the most influential medium for Dutch consumers. Influence is defined as a combination of the time

consumers spend on a medium and the relative importance they attach to it in their daily lives.

2: The internet is used mainly as a means to research decisions and to find supporting evidence for the decisions made.

Search engines are key in the decision making process while social networks are, as of yet, hardly used. In particular when

it comes to making decisions regarding durable goods and services, the Internet is viewed as the most important

information source.

3: A particular remarkable conclusion is the marginal role social networks apparently play in decision making processes. The

strength of social networks seems to be in emotional brand bonding rather than giving clear advice aimed at purchase

decisions.

4: In general, the Dutch trust the information available on the Internet, in particular information provided by the government.

The extensive amount of information available online makes it easier to learn quickly and makes it possible to make well-

balanced decisions.

5: When seeking advice from others, the Dutch place a high value on the advice of friends, family and colleagues. Remarkably

the majority of the respondents state that they only partly trust advice from strangers while conceding that the usefulness

thereof is most likely high. The trustworthiness of content produced by sponsored or paid bloggers is extremely low.

6: Dutch Consumers are very familiar with micro blogs such as Twitter. In general the opinion is that people share too much

uninteresting personal information. Consumers are also very aware of the possible implications of sharing personal

information which could potentially harm their career.

7: Companies who make use of micro blogs to listen and anticipate consumers interests are appreciated more than those that

don’t. Having a company keep their own micro blog is seen as less relevant.

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Digital Influence

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Important information sources for consumers in

their daily decisions

(All numbers are percents)

Internet (excluding e-mail) 71 23 32 34 30 12 21 19

Advice from friends, family and/or

colleagues48 23 23 51 16 20 28 11

E-mail 55 22 22 28 19 5 15 11

Television 32 14 21 22 13 5 8 8

Newspapers 35 11 20 25 9 6 12 8

Mail or information through the

post33 10 11 20 11 8 11 1

Radio 16 9 12 20 9 5 10 5

Magazines 24 4 11 15 5 4 5 2

• Internet is also the most important medium for daily decision making. It is rated even higher than peer

influence.

Each source of information is “absolutely essential” or “extremely important”

BASE: All respondents in the Netherlands, (n=640)

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How influential is the Internet? Net importance of the internet compared to other

media

TV Radio Newspapers MagazinesInternet

(not email)Email

China 23% -18% 35% 6% 84% 68%

US -28% -53% -34% -68% 1% -4%

Japan 9% -30% 8% -22% 36% 16%

Germany 17% 9% 18% -14% 52% 30%

UK -26% -54% -54% -66% 15% -14%

France -39% -32% -22% -24% 10% -18%

Canada -36% -43% -26% -62% 3% -16%

Netherlands -25% -44% -15% -63% 17% -2%

Note: Net Importance calculated by subtracting Bottom 2 importance scores (not at all/somewhat) from top-three importance scores (Essential, Extremely, Very)

• The net importance shows another clear trend regarding the relative importance of the Internet. The

higher ratings of “essential” and “extremely important” become clearly visible when weighed against

other media.

Each source of information is “absolutely essential” or “extremely important”

BASE: All respondents in the Netherlands, (n=640)

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Average number of hours consumers spend on

activities per week

All numbers are average number of

hours engaged in each activity per week

Using the Internet 15.4 13.2 11.7 12.2 14.4 12.1 13.1 12.7

Watching television 6.7 14.0 12.0 13.1 15.5 10.8 14.1 14.5

Listening to the radio 2.7 6.5 3.7 7.7 8.4 5.6 6.9 13.5

Reading e-mail 3.3 4.6 3.2 3.6 4.2 3.1 4.1 4.4

Listening to music through a device

other than the radio or the Internet4.5 5.1 3.7 6.0 5.9 3.5 5.6 1.4

Using your mobile phone 6.3 5.8 3.2 4.5 3.8 2.3 4.0 3.0

Playing video games (offline) 4.0 3.6 3.0 3.8 4.3 3.8 4.5 1.7

Seeking/giving advice to friends, family

and colleagues2.7 2.8 2.2 6.0 2.2 1.8 2.8 1.4

Reading newspapers 3.3 2.9 2.4 2.9 2.9 1.9 2.7 3.9

Reading magazines 3.4 2.2 2.0 2.6 2.1 1.9 2.2 2.3

Reading mail or information you

received through the post3.0 2.0 2.6 1.9 1.8 1.5 1.6 1.6

Total average hours spent per week 55.3 62.7 49.7 64.3 65.5 48.3 61.6 60.4

Less time is spent on the average use of the internet, against more traditional media types such as

radio and TV. Despite this fact however, the net influence of Internet indicates its crucial role in

decision making.

BASE: All respondents in the Netherlands, (n=640)

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Impact on Decisions

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Importance of the Internet in obtaining

informationThe Internet is “absolutely essential,” “extremely important,” or “very important”

when making decisions regarding the topics below.

(All numbers are percents)

Consumer electronics 88 51 59 75 54 64 56 50

Friends and family 87 55 55 64 41 55 46 42

Personal finance 84 35 46 47 44 32 32 34

Travel and leisure 83 46 62 63 52 59 51 51

Health, diet and fitness 83 38 49 41 34 34 41 25

Politics and current affairs 82 41 49 59 32 34 31 36

Consumer products 78 37 46 42 34 30 38 26

Running the home 67 29 46 49 41 46 26 21

Against all categories Internet plays a crucial role in decision making. Luxury items such as consumer

electronics and travel are rated highest

BASE: All respondents in the Netherlands, (n=640)

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Usage of different information sources to get

information on goods and services

(All numbers are percents)

Which sources did you use……..

Advice from

friends, family

and/or

colleagues

Television

Company/

Organisation

representatives

Newspaper/

Magazine

articles

Radio Internet

Go

od

s a

nd

se

rvic

es

Daily Groceries 17 6 3 19 1 16

Personal finances 15 2 11 4 1 32

Education 8 1 7 3 1 16

Healthcare 17 3 10 8 2 33

Politics & government 17 28 2 25 12 50

Travel and leisure 25 4 7 10 2 63

Consumer electronics 21 4 10 12 1 54

Utilities 12 3 5 6 1 24

Children 13 1 2 4 0 8

Figures reflect the percentage of consumers who indicated which information source(s) they used when making a

decision regarding the goods and/or services (row).

The Dutch make more use of the internet than of friends for obtaining information on goods and

services. In particular for travel, politics and consumer electronics, consumers in the Netherlands use

the internet as their primary information source.

BASE: Variable base. Respondents who used the Internet to help them make a decision regarding a good and/or service

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Information sources used to make decisions on

goods and services

BASE: Variable base. Respondents who used the Internet to help them make a decision regarding a good and/or service

(All numbers are

percents)

Search

engine

Comments

from other

people

Blog

Company-

sponsored

website

Product/price

comparison

site

Social

networking

site

Politically

oriented

website

Online ad

Government-

sponsored

website

Consumer electronics 57 44 6 54 76 1 2 26 1

Travel and leisure 70 44 7 54 40 3 16 26 4

Healthcare 56 26 4 34 22 2 9 6 4

Politics & Government 32 16 7 3 4 4 23 2 68

Personal finances 38 13 3 48 32 0 6 10 2

Education 49 14 3 47 9 5 12 10 1

Utilities 37 14 4 25 26 3 13 7 3

Children 39 20 3 17 3 0 11 4 3

Daily groceries 11 4 1 23 19 1 1 21 1

Figures represent the average percentage of consumers who indicated the following source (column) helped them make a decision about the goods

and/or services (row).

In general, search engines are the most popular sources of information. For expensive and

elaborated products and services (like consumer electronics and travel and leisure) more information

sources are consulted. Note the relative unimportant role in the decision making proces of social

networks

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Information and Trust

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How consumers feel about information on the Internet

How do you feel about all the information on the Internet?

86%

75% 75%69% 69%

64% 62%59%

63%69%

63% 63%

49%

62%68%

37%

46%

22%

12%

19% 17%20%

27%

34%

It makes it easier to learn quickly about what I am interested in

I don't have to rely on a single source of information

The amount of information is overwhelming and hard to keep up with

62%

68%

27%

It makes it easier to learn quickly about

what I am interested in

I don't have to rely on a single source

of information

The amount of information is

overwhelming and hard to keep up

with

Netherlands

BASE: All respondents in the Netherlands, (n=640)

A large portion of the Dutch consumers experience the internet as a diversified place where they can

find information quickly. 27% of them however also indicate that they find the amount of information on

the internet overwhelming and hard to keep up with.

15

53%

35%

31%

28%

52%

23%

51%

32

%

55%

45%

16% 24%32

%

23%

21%

25%

67

%

53%

21% 3

4%

55%

54%

9%

23%

58%

58%

11% 17%

68

%

53%

16% 22%

46%

47%

22%

18%

I feel people share too much information about their life

A lot of things people say online are not very interesting

I hold back in expressing my opinions online due to concerns about my career

I worry about the impact of expressing my opinion on my personal or financial safety

Total China U.S. Japan Germany UK France Canada Netherlands

How consumers feel about expressing themselves online

Which of these statements describe how you feel about all of the ways

to express yourself?

(Percent who selected statement. multiple choices allowed)

People are aware of the implications of sharing personal information, specially when it impacts their

personal career.

BASE: All respondents, from international research, (n=4,243)

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Do consumers trust information on the Internet?

Generally, do you trust the information available on the Internet?

94%85% 82% 82% 78% 77% 77% 75%

Yes, 82%

No, 18%

Netherlands

(Percent indicating „yes,‟ they generally trust the information available on the Internet)

BASE: All respondents in the Netherlands, (n=640)

Trust of available information is high.

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How consumers use the Internet to find the

most truthful information

83%65%

49% 45% 44% 42% 41%53%

16%35%

49% 51% 51% 50% 55%43%

1% 2% 4% 5% 7% 4% 5%

Other

I identify a couple of trustworthy sources and then follow them

I look at a lot of sources and believe the truth is something average to all the sources

BASE: All respondents in the Netherlands, (n=640)

Although in general trust is high, people still filter the information to their own opinions

(All numbers are percents)

I look at a lot of sources and

believe the truth is something

average to all the sources53%

I identify a couple of trustworthy

sources and then follow them43%

Other 5%

- I follow my own intuition

- Stay critical and check the sources

on their trustworthiness

- Most sources on the Internet are not

trustworthy

BASE: All respondents, from international research, (n=4,243)

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Consumers who seek advice from people and how

much they trust the sources and find each source

useful

67%

74%

74%

82%

82%

85%

85%

85%

France

Germany

Japan

China

U.S.

U.K.

Canada

Netherlands

Percent who seek advice from other

people

Percent selecting each as a source they trust and find useful

(All numbers

are percents)

Tru

st

Usefu

l

Tru

st

Usefu

l

Tru

st

Usefu

l

Tru

st

Usefu

l

Tru

st

Usefu

l

Tru

st

Usefu

l

Tru

st

Usefu

l

Conversation

s with friends,

family, co-

workers

94 95 93 93 92 89 91 91 94 93 90 95 97 96

Comments

posted by

readers on a

website

75 83 21 46 52 58 31 60 40 56 35 56 27 53

Blogs 56 63 8 18 33 39 7 14 13 18 10 19 11 19

BASE: Respondents who seek advice or opinions of other people when making a decision, (n=542)

Tru

st

Usefu

l

94 92

34 49

11 15

Dutch consumers rely heavily on advice from other people when making decisions. They find

comments posted by readers on a website relatively useful, but they do not necessarily trust them.

When it comes to blog posts they find them both untrustworthy and not very useful.

19

MicroBlogs

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How consumers feel about companies monitoring

microblogs

94%

74% 72%68%

62%56%

52%58%

14% 2

3%

22%

7%

22%

23%

25

%

21%

8%

21%

19%

35%

26

%

27

%

29%

31%

I would be glad they were listening and responding to my issue

I would feel they were spying on me and violating my privacy

I would feel they were taking no real action and it was just for show

BASE: Respondents who have a microblog account, (n=1,087)

Almost 90% has heard of micro blogging and 20% has an account. Companies who are monitoring

microblogs are mostly positive rated for creating conversational opportunities (58%).

(All numbers

are percents)

Heard of micro

blogging?

Have a micro

blogging account?

Yes 87% 20%

No 13% 80%

BASE: All respondents in the Netherlands, (n=640)

21%

31%

58%

I would feel they were spying on me and

violating my privacy

I would feel they were taking no real action and

it was just for show

I would be glad they were listening and

responding to my issue

BASE: Dutch respondents who have a microblog account, (n=112)

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Thank You

For more information on the Digital Influence Study, please contact:

David WolffAssociate Director Digital, Fleishman Hillard Amsterdam

(E) david.wolff@fleishman.com | (I) www.fleishman.com

(T) +31 20 406 59 30 | (F) +31 20 406 59 40