[Infographic] How consumers research products in 2026 (and what it means for your brand)

56% of consumers visit three or more websites before buying anything over $500. The higher the price, the longer the list of places your product has to show up, and the more touchpoints that have to agree.

Emplifi surveyed 1,650 consumers across the U.S. and U.K. to understand how people actually research and validate purchases in 2026. The pattern is clear: buying is no longer a funnel, it is an evaluation. Consumers cross-check brand claims against reviews, search results, marketplaces, and AI assistants before they ever hit “add to cart.”

We pulled the most important data from our full Consumer Report: Digital Authenticity in the Age of AI into a focused infographic on product research. Below, we break down what it means for your brand.

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Research intensity scales with purchase price

For sub-$20 items, 45% of consumers make a decision after visiting a single website. Once the price crosses $500, that single-site number drops to 12%, and 56% of buyers visit three or more sources. At $1,000 and above, 63% visit three or more sources before they buy.

The time spent researching has also jumped. Compared to 2023, there is a 24 percentage-point increase in consumers spending more than an hour on research for high-value purchases.

What this means for commerce leaders: Your product pages cannot be the whole story. For anything priced over $500, assume shoppers are comparing you against at least two other sources in real time. Audit the consistency of your product data, imagery, reviews, and pricing across your website, your retailer listings, and the marketplaces your buyers actually use. Gaps between channels are where trust, and revenue, leak.

Where research begins shifts as the stakes rise

The starting point of the journey changes based on price:

• Under $20: 52% start on a marketplace, 28% on a brand website, 22% on social media, 14% on search or AI tools
• $500 and above: 34% start on a marketplace, 32% on search or AI, 30% on a brand website, 16% on social media

High-value research fragments across four near-equal entry points. Search and AI assistants are closing the gap with marketplaces fast, and your brand website is no longer optional for high-consideration buyers.

What this means for marketers: Single-channel strategies are over for anything beyond impulse purchases. Your visibility needs to be consistent across marketplaces, search, AI answer engines, social, and owned properties, because any one of them could be where the journey starts. Feed the same structured product data, reviews, and visual proof into every surface, so the answer is the same no matter where your buyer lands first.

Reviews and search rank as the most trusted content

When consumers rank content by authenticity, the two most trusted formats are organic, not paid. 66% say search engine results are authentic, and 63% say user-generated reviews are. Everything brands control most tightly ranks below that.

• Search engine results: 66%
• User-generated reviews: 63%
• Influencer reviews: 42%
• Social media ads: 38%
• Promotional emails: 35%
• AI-generated content: 31%

79% of consumers now read three or more reviews before making a purchase decision. Reviews are not a nice-to-have, they are the signal consumers use to decide whether any of your other claims are real.

What this means for marketers: Treat reviews as performance media, not reputation management. Collect them at every post-purchase moment, syndicate them to every retailer and marketplace you sell on, and surface them on product pages, ads, and email. If your creative leans on brand-authored claims without social proof behind them, expect conversion to lag competitors who let their customers do the talking.

AI transparency is now a purchase criterion

91% of consumers expect brands to disclose when AI is used in marketing, customer service, or content creation. That is a near-universal expectation, and it applies whether you are writing product copy, generating imagery, or running a chatbot.

Consumers are not rejecting AI outright. Only 31% rate AI-generated content as authentic today, but the issue is disclosure, not automation. Brands that use AI openly, and pair it with human proof like reviews and real customer voices, keep trust intact. Brands that hide it lose the benefit of the doubt the moment consumers catch on.

What this means for brand and content teams: Set a clear AI disclosure standard across marketing, product, and support, and apply it the same way every time. Label AI-generated imagery and copy where it matters, keep a human name on written content that carries opinion or expertise, and make sure any AI-powered service interaction is transparent about how the response was generated and how to reach a person.

Service quality converts, or erodes, the research investment

Research builds the intent. Service decides whether it becomes a second purchase. The data is direct:

• 59% bought from a brand again after a positive service interaction
• 52% stopped buying from a brand after an inauthentic or poor service experience
• 77% say their most recent support issue was completely resolved
• 70% believe a human agent ultimately solved their issue
• 84% say quick response time is critical to authentic service

The return on your research and acquisition spend comes down to whether the first support interaction confirms or contradicts the brand the consumer researched. A single slow or scripted response can reverse weeks of consideration.

What this means for customer care leaders: Measure response time and resolution rate on every channel consumers use to reach you, not just the ones you report on. Use AI to prioritize, summarize, and route, but keep the final response human-led. Track the share of interactions that close with a clear resolution and a human tone, and treat that number as a leading indicator of retention.

What this means for your brand

Modern product research is unified across channels even when your team is not. Consumers already move between marketplaces, search, AI assistants, your website, and your service channels as a single journey. The brands that win are the ones whose content, reviews, and care feel like they came from the same team.

For marketing, commerce, and CX leaders, the practical steps are the same:

• Show up consistently across every surface where research begins, with the same product data, proof, and price
• Activate reviews and UGC as the strongest trust signal available on your product pages, ads, and retailer listings
• Disclose AI usage openly and pair it with human proof, so transparency becomes a reason to trust you
• Deliver fast, human-toned service so the first post-purchase moment confirms the brand the consumer just researched

For the complete data set, including additional findings on AI transparency, generational behavior, and the full research methodology, download the Consumer Report: Digital Authenticity in the Age of AI.

Talk to an Emplifi expert about turning authentic service into measurable retention.