Reddit’s role in big ticket buys

Why people turn to Reddit in search of assurance for their high priced purchases

Janine Ward - Senior Manager, Goods Partnerships

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October 26, 2023

It comes as no surprise that the economy has seen brighter days. The relentless rise of the cost of living crisis has left consumers grappling with financial uncertainty. However, even in these challenging times, there's a notable trend emerging – while the economic climate might be uncertain, consumers are still planning to spend, especially on big-ticket items. In fact, 73% of high income earners on Reddit plan to increase high-priced purchases across various products and experiences in the next six months.¹

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The catch? While they’re looking to spend big on non-essential items, they’re becoming increasingly selective about what they choose to buy. And with more scrutiny on non-essential spending, people are doing their homework to ensure their big ticket buy is worth it. To get the information they need, they’re turning to a place that’s filled with authentic and trusted recommendations for their research: you guessed it, Reddit.

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Redditors’ financial optimism inspires future spending

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Financially optimistic

50%

of high income redditors believe their income will increase in 2023¹

Future big spenders

1-in-3

high income redditors intend to spend more on non-essential items in 2023¹

Rich conversation growth

35%

Surge in conversations regarding high-end purchases over the last 2 years²

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Reddit’s role in big ticket buys

Finding your next favorite purchase is never a simple journey. Here, we’ll take you through what that looks like on Reddit.

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Reddit is a place for product discovery and inspiration.

There are countless communities dedicated to finding redditors’ next favorite purchase. Subreddits like r/INEEEEDIT and r/shutupandtakemymoney, to r/DidntKnowIWantedThat and r/BuyItForLife are filled with countless reviews, videos, and testimonials that inspire impulse purchases and splurge spending.

The majority of people on Reddit, however, come to the platform with a high priced purchase in mind.

In fact, 78% of redditors use the platform for recommendations more than once a month, far higher than their use of Google, Amazon, Consumer Reports, influencers, or salespeople for recommendations.³

Redditors interact and ask specific questions in broader communities.

In search of assurance for their final purchase decision, high-income consumers rely on "Ask a question" communities like r/askcarsales or r/suggestalaptop, prioritizing reviews centered on experiences rather than pricing. In fact, on Reddit, every second an average of two people ask for a recommendation, each yielding an average of 19 responses.⁴

Redditors make big purchase decisions easy.

Driven by helping their fellow redditors, many have taken it upon themselves to help make purchase decisions easy. Like this example shows, a redditor created a tool that aggregated all of the best product recommendations on our platform into an easy-to-use website.

Reddit is the final checkpoint.

Reassured by community influence, they are ready to make more informed, confident, and faster purchases. 38% of Reddit users reported making a faster purchase decision after reviewing recommendations on Reddit.³

They keep coming back for the community.

Once these consumers purchase using Reddit as a confirmation tool, they stay on the platform as brand advocates, joining brand-specific communities to learn more about products, advocate for the brand, and plan future purchases. As members of these communities, they seek tips and recommendations for maintaining their products, ask for advice for future purchases, and use the community to improve their buying experiences.

In the end, because of the wealth of information, the support of their communities, and the invaluable advice they find, Reddit becomes a staple in their research arsenal. Start your purchase journey with us on Reddit.

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Advertise on Reddit

Contributors:
Emily Le, Marketing Lead, Global Customer Marketing

Sources:
‍¹GlobalWebIndex, USA, US data, Q4 2022–Q1 2023
‍²Brandwatch, Global data, Jan-Jul 2021-2023
‍³Survey – Impact of Reddit Reco’s: Reddit Custom Survey, redditors n=3,000, Mar 2023 (US, UK, AUS, CA, DE)
‍⁴Reddit Internal, Feb 22-Feb 23.